Champions of Time and Space
by Sir Bormun
Summary: Sixty-four of the most famous video game characters compete in a tournament to find who is the greatest fighter among them, but face peril and action outside of the arena as well. Inspired by GameFAQs's Summer 2003 Contest.
1. The First Gathering

Consider 64 video game characters... The most well known in any games ever created, from gaming forerunner Pac-Man, to Nintendo legend Mario, to Squaresoft creations Cloud, Squall, and Kefka, to just plain obscure AiAi, Mr. Resetti, and Captain Olimar. They're all in the same place, trying to obtain ultimate glory... And in the meantime, just trying to get along.  
  
Hello, readers... You're in for a helluva long intro. There's a lot of backstory behind this already partly written story, but I'll try to be as brief as possible.  
  
Some of you may know of a video game website named gamefaqs.com. It's known primarily for the many walkthroughs it contains about all kinds of games... But it also has a large message board system. It was on one of these boards that this story was developed: The Board set aside for the "Summer 2003 Contest".  
  
If you've been following gamefaqs.com for the past two summers, you would have noticed a giant popularity contest of 64 of the most famous video game characters. What I, and later in the story, more than 10 others, did, was to take that tournament, and its results, and develop a giant piece of fanfiction based on it.  
  
The premise of this story is that 64 characters from all over the multiverse of video game characters have traveled to one, unknown dimension to have a giant tournament... The winner is considered the greatest fighter in all of creation. But in the meantime... All the characters must interact. There will be feuds, there will be humor, there will be comradery, and there might even be a little romance. This story isn't just a one- dimensional list of fights... It's one of the most intensive crossover dramas that you'll see.  
  
We started out small, but I'd estimate that by the end... This story will total 200,000 words or more. I'm Sir Bormun... The originator of the project. The first few fics are my writing. Later on in the story, other fics will be written by GameFAQs users BigCow, Furious J, StopPokingMe, Dan Bonez, Seadragon76, Funkadelict, Aeon Azuran, Solid Chihuahua, Jjukil, and several others.  
  
What was originally supposed to be a thirty minute a day diversion for me over the summer ballooned... But now it has turned into much, much, more.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------  
  
Day 1  
  
64 chairs were set out on the lawn.  
  
Soon, the battles would begin. Every day, one victor would live to fight another day, while one loser would be sent back to his or her respective dimension. Every day, the amount of chairs would decrease...  
  
Until there was only one.  
  
Many aspired to be that last one standing. Some had tried before, like Sephiroth, who was clad in his usual black coat. The son of Jenova exchanged glares with his blonde-haired look-alike, Cloud. The Mako glow in their eyes had that power in them. You didn't piss off the two of them, or their swords would do the talking, and those swords had some talking to do... There were foes that the two SOLDIERs had battled over the course of last year's tournament that would have to look out for those blades in the coming months... Perhaps even each other.  
  
There were new people here too; Kefka, the insane clown, and Magus, the blue-haired enigma, among many, many others. Magus just sat there, with his scythe at his side, waiting for the time to come. He had seen how well his... associate Crono had done last year, and if a weakling idiot could go that far, Magus figured that he would have no problems against the competition. He had conquered practically everything in his own time... He knew that he could do the same in this tournament.  
  
Kefka was preparing in a very different way, as he always did. Kefka could taunt you and annoy you to no end, and he knew it well. Some of the less will-powered people in this tournament, like Tidus and Aeris, were already angry at Kefka's eccentric ways, even from just seeing him cavorting around the lawn in his madness and laughter. All the better for the clown to work with later on.  
  
Talking was at a minimum here. Sure, Max Payne talked business with Sam Fisher, both trying to refine their skills as a gunman, Kirby and Pikachu, in their peculiar language of squeaks, also communicated, but in their case, they remembered last year. Both of the "cute" characters had been bounced out of last year's tournament early, and both seemed primed to do far better this time around. Auron sat with his young protégé, Tidus, and lectured the blonde-haired kid. Auron had been through things like this before, and had excelled at them. He was all to eager to point out Tidus's failures from last year, and how they could be fixed. And Squall, same as always, tuned everyone else out. Some were surprised that Squall was back for another try... He'd never seemed into the tourney last year, and he'd lost very early. But he was back, one way or another.  
  
And Crono just said nothing. He just didn't. It wasn't in his nature.  
  
Suddenly, a hush came upon the assembled video game stars. Someone important had arrived.  
  
Flanked on both sides by Zelda, his girlfriend, and Ganondorf, his mortal enemy, Link of Hyrule strode into the lawn, and sat down, saying nothing, on the regal chair marked "Champion's Chair" that laid in front of all the others. His advisors, Kaepora Gaebora and Tingle, quickly rushed over. Being the champion... Link had been allowed two special guests. It was one of the perks of being the returning winner.  
  
Link would find out the negatives of that position soon enough.  
  
"Hee hee!! The stupid owl got lost, but thanks to Tingle's maps, everything's okay," the green man aspiring to be a fairy said. He regretted it fairly quickly, as the huge owl turned to him angrily.  
  
"Lost??? I am never lost, you insolent map salesman. I was merely exploring the land. This isn't Hyrule, you know, and we won't know the lay of the land against any possible ambushes. There are quite a few people here who don't want to see you survive to your match with AiAi..." Tingle chortled, interrupting Kaepora. The owl glowered again at the wannabe fairy, but Tingle had too much to say to pay attention.  
  
"AiAi? Hee hee hee! I could beat that monkey, and I'm a fairy! He won't even come close to beating you, sir, he's totally incompetent!"  
  
AiAi, over in the corner, was not doing too much to persuade anyone differently. He repeatedly rolled his monkey ball straight into the wall, as the amused Italian brothers, Mario and Luigi, looked on. People standing nearby were already tired of hearing the phrase "Mamma-Mia!!".  
  
And Link was tired of watching the hapless monkey. He made a rare comment.  
  
"Not a problem."  
  
Two of the more villainous characters in this contest agreed with Link. Sephiroth and Ganondorf nodded, annoyed.  
  
"Link will get into the second round, too easy," said Ganondorf, scourge of Hyrule.  
  
Sephiroth simply smiled.  
  
"It's never easy for too long. He'll be facing someone stronger soon enough..."  
  
"Let's hope he doesn't get this far... But perhaps he might be facing... Me. HAHAHAHA!!!!"  
  
CATS watched this from a corner.  
  
"Soon... Soon all them laughter shall belong to CATS. CATS!!"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------  
  
If you liked that... It gets much better later. If you didn't... Same thing.  
  
I know that the premise of this story is likely very confusing. If you have any questions for me about anything you don't understand... just email me at sirbormun@aol.com.  
  
Chapters will be springing up more than once a day... All this stuff is already written, so... Enjoy.  
  
To find a full listing of the 64 characters in the tournament, check my profile. 


	2. The Dimension's Early Days

A few author's notes... For now, it's just character development. The actual tournament, where one character is eliminated every day, comes a bit later on. All the parts that I'm posting now were written by me, but it won't be long til the other co-wrters that I mentioned come in. Notice that the passages are labeled with the day in the 93-day timeline of this story that they took place... There is not an event for every day, notice how Day 4 is skipped. That means that I didn't write that day.  
  
So, simple version... This chapter contains a passage that was originally three parts. Whenever you see "DAY ____" that means you're reading the next installment, it's not a continuing story.  
  
Without further ado... More from the dimension of the 64 chairs.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
DAY THREE  
  
The various personalities settled in for the month-long wait. Some plotted, some trained, some just talked. Tidus and Yuna in particular were so happy to see each other, after being apart for so long since Sin had been defeated.  
  
Except Kefka, who planned to destroy them, the onlookers were happy for the young couple. But for one young boy, looking at the reunion caused him only pain.  
  
Sora sat on a nearby rock, head in his hands. It had been tough on him, apart from his two best friends for so long. He had been so eager to go on this voyage, hoping to see his friends, Kairi and Riku, once again. It had been a huge blow to the brown-haired boy when he found none of his friends there, and his mood had been very off for the first day. Smiling wasn't going to help this time, and he had no heart to do it anyway. Luckily for Sora, not all the participants present where as cruel as Kefka and Wario, who seemed inclined to only laugh at him. Mario, Yoshi, Luigi, and even Magus, who could relate to the kid, had spent some time trying to cheer him up. But it hadn't helped Sora, his mood of depression continued as it had done ever since the destruction of Ansem.  
  
Three pairs of eyes saw the moping Sora with sadness, as they knew him well. Aeris, Cloud, and Squall were looking at Sora's distraught form, as the conversation had drifted to him.  
  
"I almost don't have the heart to face him, guys. I have to face Sora first match... But the way he's looking, I couldn't take putting him into deeper despair," said the kindhearted Aeris. She knew what being separated was. The Lifestream had not been a pleasant place...  
  
Cloud sympathetically patted her on the shoulder, but the ever stoic Squall didn't agree with her dilemma.  
  
"Way I see it, Aeris... Whatever. Even if you let him win, and we don't even know if that will cheer him up, that cyborg over there won't show any mercy."  
  
Squall had been carefully watching the gunman, Master Chief. Squall had seen him shooting the moving targets set up in the training center, hour after hour.  
  
And Squall hadn't seen him miss.  
  
Cloud shook his head. "I don't even know why the kid came. It must have been hell from him getting there, through those walls between worlds. They were awfully bad transport blocks."  
  
"Don't you even know Sora, Cloud? He came for Kairi. Knowing him, he probably wants to see her more than anything else right now... But he won't now." Aeris bent her head in pity.  
  
"I'm just worried that if I win, Sora will hurl himself off the nearest cliff," Aeris continued. Squall grunted at Aeris's last words. But inside of him, his emotions were there, and he remembered a time when he had been like Squall, after he lost his only friend in the orphanage. He had been like the kid, long ago. So it was only fair... That he help Sora out.  
  
Squall strode over to Sora, grim, and took a seat on the grass next to him. The boy looked up, sadness etched on his face.  
  
"Leon."  
  
"Squall now. I changed it back, Yuffie never shut up about it."  
  
Sora was silent. By his downtrodden face, it was obvious that he was not in a talking mood.  
  
"I understand what's wrong, Sora. I lost a sister at a young age. I felt that way, what you're feeling."  
  
Squall got up, and looked down at the young Keyblade wielder.  
  
"When that happened to me, I just blotted out all emotion from myself. I said to myself that if I ever got too close to someone, that I would just lose them, and be reduced to the same sadness that was within me long ago."  
  
Squall paused, while Sora started to talk.  
  
"But I ca-"  
  
"Don't take that advice. But you can't mope forever either."  
  
Sora nodded.  
  
"But it's just so hard to be cheerful when I have no reason to feel that way."  
  
"The reasons will come back in time. They always do."  
  
DAY FIVE  
  
The current rage among the contestants was target practice. The dimension that housed them all also held a giant state-of-the-art training center... Why not put it to good use?  
  
The contests varied on how they would break those targets. Some, such as Mega Man, Zero, and Master Chief, preferred to fire guns at the targets. Others sparred with the targets, and with other competitors, and Pikachu and Aeris simply sent magic blasts at theirs.  
  
But two characters just weren't fitting in.  
  
First, there was Captain Olimar. Sure, he had a large amount of Pikmin, surprisingly vicious creatures, at his disposal. However, unfortunately for him, he was up against Mario, and the Italian plumber had done his homework.  
  
It was going to be a quick strike or nothing for Olimar.  
  
Olimar had enlisted the help of a person who could likely help him out in this respect. The only problem was, Ganondorf didn't come cheap. There would always be consequences, if you enlisted his aid.  
  
"So, flower man... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! You want me to use my fire and water spells on your Pikmin, right? You want them to try and dodge it, eh?"  
  
Olimar nodded. The man never spoke, as he kept his face behind a helmet at all times, but Olimar kept one of the most extensive diaries of anyone. His journals were each entries that took almost an hour a day for the little alien, and that's where you found out what he was thinking.  
  
Ganondorf smirked. This would be as easy as taking over Hyrule...  
  
The pikmin rushed at Ganondorf. True to his word, Ganondorf whispered a few words and fire started coming out of his hands, right at the Pikmin.  
  
Olimar hoped and prayed. If this worked, he might have a chance after all.  
  
It didn't work. With their lack of brains, the pikmin rushed backwards from the fire, trying to outrun it instead of dodge it. It didn't work. Only the red Pikmin survived, as the other 2/3 of Olimar's force was incinerated by flame.  
  
Ganondorf burst into laughter as a hurt Olimar just walked away, head bent, with his 33 remaining Pikmin following.  
  
"Ouch. Such a show of weakness..."  
  
Meanwhile, AiAi the monkey was practicing his skills... or shall I say skill? The monkey was only good for one thing... Rolling around in the giant sphere that encased him.  
  
And the Master Sword was unforgiving to glass balls.  
  
Currently, Isaac, the hero of Golden Sun, was sparring with AiAi. AiAi had avoided being hit so far, but it was obvious that the battle was very one- sided. One hit to either side would finish things, but there was a problem... AiAi had to get close to the warrior first. Isaac said little as he repeatedly jumped out of the way of the monkey's slow movements.  
  
If this fight covered a long distance, AiAi would be unstoppable. However, accelerating is necessary for someone that relies on the sheer destructive power of high speeds, and in the ring, AiAi couldn't do that. So it was a real crapshoot for the monkey... He couldn't win, but his opponent could lose.  
  
But Isaac didn't lose. AiAi worked his way into a corner, and before he could turn around, Isaac's sword rained down on his glass ball, and the ball shattered. Not surprisingly... The monkey was furious.  
  
"Hee hee hee ha ha ha HEE ha!!!"  
  
"Sorry about that," said Isaac. "You have a backup?"  
  
The monkey nodded, but looked crestfallen. If he had lost to Isaac, how could he beat Link?  
  
The two underdogs had not had a good day.  
  
DAY SIX  
  
Samus and Fox walked into the food service area of the village where the competitors lived. They had recently had their daily competition on target practice, and once again, Fox had been beaten. Samus's ray guns just were more precision-oriented than a blaster.  
  
Most of the characters were already in the food area. Kirby, being too small to know any better, dived into the food laid out before him, swallowing it all. Kirby was so hungry, that he also accidently turned his huge inhalation of everything in front of him to the aisle that went right by his table, and by some chance, happened to swallow Tingle. Since Kirby gained the powers of whatever he swallowed, he was granting with Tingle's powers... A really annoying voice, bad dress sense, and the ability to sell maps very badly.  
  
Luckily, Kirby exhaled, and got rid of Tingle's powers, before too long, and before anyone that was extremely gullible bought the "valuable" maps that had been created. Unfortunately for the sanity of some of the crew, Tingle also was completely unharmed.  
  
As shocking as it may seem... Tingle had a way of annoying almost everyone in the competition. Some wondered why Link had bothered bringing him along.  
  
Meanwhile, Fox and Samus sat down in the only two available seats. It is obvious why they were so available, because they were right across the table from one who had already been labeled a madman... CATS.  
  
"How are you gentlemen?" Said CATS, as the bounty hunter and the pilot sat down. Samus groaned.  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you all... I'm a woman!"  
  
"What you say?" Responded CATS to Samus's statement. Samus could only shake her head.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
As soon as Samus said that word, she couldn't help looking over to the other end of the room, where the silent loner, Squall Leonhart, sat in front of an empty plate, calmly listening to the discussions of Cloud, Aeris, Sora, and others around him. The word she had just uttered... Well, it fit Squall so well. It didn't help that he said it so often, either.  
  
CATS was not someone that the majority of the people in the competition enjoyed being around. No one could ever understand what he was saying. Take his first meeting with Cloud, which had been a subject of hilarity all week. Cloud hadn't enjoyed it much, though...  
  
The two had shaken hands.  
  
Cloud had nodded his head, and mumbled courtesies. CATS answered,  
  
"You are on your way to destruction."  
  
The spike-haired man was puzzled. He scratched his head, wondering what the hell CATS had meant.  
  
"You have no chance to survive make your time."  
  
Overloaded by a type of English he had certainly never heard, Cloud just ran away, to the laughter of all of the people assembled. CATS had an answer for them, though.  
  
"You laughing??? Ha ha ha ha. All your base are belong to us, fools."  
  
And CATS had left. He was a real oddity 


	3. Swords, Scythes, Stadiums, and Shops

Not much to say for now... These are my last three fics going solo before new writers join the crew. Just enjoy the story.  
  
Also, to those that have read this on GameFAQs... Please refrain from posting spoilers in your reviews. I thank you for your support... But try not to spoil the element of suspense regarding who is going to win that the ff.net people might still be able to have throughout the story.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------  
  
DAY EIGHT  
  
It was just another day on the job.  
  
Tom Nook wasn't here for shop keeping. However, it's a fact that when someone is taken from one place to live and moved to a totally different place, they still tend to revert back to how they acted and what they did before the move. Tom Nook was no different. He was the shopkeeper of the little village that the 64 had created, just like he was in his own little town, and he was proud of it.  
  
He missed the peaceful village, old Tortimer the mayor, the policemen, Copper and Booker, and the villagers... Even Monique. But he had one old friend to keep him company.  
  
Mr. Resetti sighed, leaning against a nearby wall.  
  
"So Nook, how's business?" The tanuki shook his head. Business was clearly not booming, and the holdup that Bowser had tried to pull yesterday hadn't helped matters. Luckily, the big koopa had been dragged off by Mega Man and Zero, who were also shopping at the time, and Nook had escaped the potential robbery without a loss.  
  
"Bad. I just don't think this is my element, ho ho... Back at the village, I could make a living without constant price wars, and I'd have a pleasant time chatting with everyone too. But here! These guys are sharp... And they're not nice either."  
  
"Not here, apparently."  
  
"Yeah, Resetti. So, how bout you?"  
  
"Eh. No reset buttons nearby, I guess that's a good thing. But I guess... I kinda miss it. I pretend to be annoyed by yelling at those villagers, but ya know... It's fun. And it sure beats trying to cover up the last scandal Tortimer has gotten mixed up in. Man, that guy... I thought turtles were wise!"  
  
"Stereotype, my friend."  
  
Mario and Luigi, the plumbers, popped their heads in at this.  
  
"What-a is that-a? Stereotype? I've-a never heard of it! Mamma-mia!"  
  
Only, Auron, looking at katanas in the background, caught the irony of this statement. He chuckled a little, but then groaned. Tidus and Yuna were headed towards the shop. Put those two together and they turned into little, babbling children, so caught up in their love for each other that everything else was blocked out.  
  
It wasn't that Auron was such a miserly old man that he couldn't stand to see the two of them in love. However, there were more important things at stake here. Auron was more perceptive than most... He wondered what the point of this tournament was? What, if anything, would the winner receive? In addition, if Tidus could get past the first round, he'd be able to spend more time with Yuna... Wouldn't it be logical for him to want that? Wasn't it worth training for, that extra time with his love if he won?  
  
But for Auron... Convincing Tidus of this need to train was another thing entirely.  
  
Nook and Resetti were really out of their element here. In a place were competition and fighting were key, they were just a nice duo of mole and raccoon.  
  
They weren't cut out for this. They were cut out for calm walks along the grass, watching fish swim through the river, insects fly and crawl around the landscape, and  
  
Tidus and Yuna walked into the shop, and looked around.  
  
"Nice place you have here, Sir Nook..."  
  
Tom Nook smiled. From what he saw of the young summoner, she was just like the calm, polite villagers back home... One reminder of the kindness that wasn't exhibited far too often among those in this dimension.  
  
"Just Tom Nook is fine, Lady Yuna. Feel free to browse."  
  
Auron chuckled again, in the background. Softly, he whispered to himself the line that Nook always said, in his genuinely friendly greeting to all of his customers.  
  
"Just try not to carouse..."  
  
It was all but a certainty that Tom Nook would not last very long in this tournament between dimensions. The tanuki was no fighter... Auron would miss the raccoon after that inevitable first round exit... He was a pure soul, with a heart rooted entirely in kindness. That was more that could be said for many of the others at this tournament of champions.  
  
DAY TWELVE  
  
A scythe and a sword swung heatedly in the morning breeze, swung by two fighters who were much more than capable.  
  
Crono was the one that was parrying, more often than not. Crono had always tended to lead by example, rather than by words or an assertive personality. He was just content to do what he needed to do and let the others follow. Frog, Ayla, Marle, Lucca, Robo... They'd all been content to let him lead. He was the alpha male of the group, almost by default.  
  
Magus had always challenged this. He found himself more often than not being Crono's rival, partly because he remembered the boy from his past... Crono was always a Reaper, a stormcrow, a bringer of ill fortune, to all the times he went to. 600 A.D., he showed up and had to fight Magus. Prehistoric times, he showed up when humans were oppressed by lizards. Zeal had been calm and peaceful... Perfect... For so long. Crono showed up, it all falls down.  
  
Crono was a Jonah of the world of Earth... The world that for so long had been ruled by a giant alien, dwelling under the surface. Only now, because of Crono, was that world finally free.  
  
Magus was taking out some of his aggression against the leader of his old group, from the days when Lavos was cut down. Magus had been the natural leader in that group of seven... But he was also the outcast in it. No one wanted anything to do with him, or for that matter, trusted him. Not like Magus could blame them, of course...  
  
Magus alternated the locations where he swung his scythe. First, the blow came up, barely blocked in time to stop cutting off Crono's ear. Then, the blow went almost straight down, aimed at Crono's shoe. The boy had to dodge out of the way, and rushed back up at Magus with his katana outstretched.  
  
Crono, for all his leadership, could not read people. He did not realize that Lucca loved him as more than a best friend. He didn't see the hurt in Frog from the past, not at first. And he couldn't see Magus's desire to lead. He couldn't see where all the wizard's aggression was coming from.  
  
Crono's katana swung at Magus's shoulder, but was blocked by a swinging scythe, in a whirlwind motion. Crono had to duck to avoid having himself struck by the giant scythe, and in doing so, dropped his weapon, and Magus kicked it away, before Crono could reach. The elf-like warlock smiled.  
  
"It was too easy to see what you were going to do with the blade. You always swing somewhere at my torso, and I know where to hold my scythe to block it. Try and mix it up a little."  
  
Crono nodded.  
  
"Truth be told," the wizard went on, "You'll be able to use magic in regular fights, and that will help. But you should refine that techinique of yours..."  
  
"Yeah, I know. It's just tougher with a katana, you know."  
  
"Not really. It's all the same to me."  
  
Magus detected something very interesting about Crono, this time around. It was a quality about the boy that could decide how well he did in this tourney...  
  
Magus didn't know if the boy was playing to win. He didn't think he had the heart... Or the skill. Just look at who Crono had to face last time. Dante? Lara Croft? Solid Snake? All gun fighters.  
  
Kefka, Mario, and Sephiroth weren't gun fighters.  
  
But Magus didn't care. As Crono walked away, back to Nook's shop, Magus smiled, showing his fanged teeth.  
  
"Let's hope the other swordsman is that easy."  
  
It was almost time. Off in the distance, the sharp eyes of the wizard could make out the dim forms of the monkey, AiAi, was practicing precision rolling, and finding out that a wall wasn't a great target, and of the Hylian, Link, who was fencing with Isaac... And winning easily.  
  
The monkey and the elf would be facing off in their battle soon...  
  
"The black wind's howl begins to grow..."  
  
DAY EIGHTEEN  
  
Wide-eyed, a group of competitors stared at the stadium that they would soon be using for their fights.  
  
Tommy Vercetti was the only one that didn't share in the wonder of Vyse, Zelda, Pac-Man, and Luigi, who had all gathered here during the calm, sunny day, as they admired the huge stadium.  
  
"Geez, if you guys can't believe this damn thing's size, you'd be flabbergasted if ya ever saw New York City. Christ, none of you have ever seen anything like this?"  
  
"Just me."  
  
Sam Fisher spoke calmly to Tommy Vercetti as he walked up from behind the assembled group, smirking.  
  
"Fisher! ...You're not gonna arrest me, are ya?"  
  
"Not here for that. If I was here to arrest you, Vercetti, you'd already be in the brig."  
  
The two men shook hands. They had never actually met each other in the world, but both had made an effort to know their enemies... or friends... when they got here. In a place where many of the people present were among the truly bizarre, Fisher and Vercetti were just normal people. They weren't a big ape or a grammarless emperor.  
  
They were only human.  
  
As soon as Sam Fisher bid adieu to the group gathered in front of the giant coliseum, walking off back towards the village, someone far from humanoid walked up to the huge stadium, admiring it... It was Yoshi, the dinosaur friend of Mario. Luigi followed right behind the curious dinosaur, watching over Yoshi, trying to prevent foolish moves... But he failed.  
  
Yoshi stared straight at one of the metal supports near the bottom of the stadium. Metal wasn't very common in it's architectural design, but leave it to the dinosaur to find something that no one would look at as extremely odd, and find flabbergasting. Unwisely, the dinosaur decided to see if this new material was edible... And he quickly found out that it wasn't. Yoshi decided quickly that metal was not going to be a staple of his diet. Luigi chastised the dinosaur for his foolishness, but he had something that he was curious about too.  
  
"Hey-a? How-a many people does this-a fit?"  
  
Vercetti studied the outside for a moment, and made a guess. Living in Miami, he had seen his fair share of arenas...  
  
"Just ten grand or so."  
  
"What exactly does grand mean..."  
  
Vercetti shook his head. He had to remind himself sometimes... Some of the people present weren't exactly versed in mob street talk... Especially the Princess Zelda, who had just spoken.  
  
"Ten thousand, princess."  
  
Vyse whistled in admiration.  
  
"Just? Vercetti, most of us have never seen ten thousand people gathered in one city, let alone a stadium."  
  
"Amateurs. Hey, Robin Hood , ten thousand's not too much in my world's terms. There are more than a million people back in Vice City, where I live... It that different for you?"  
  
Tommy Vercetti never needed an answer to his question... The shocked looks on his audience's faces at the mention of one million people in the same place answered it for him. Obviously... There wasn't as much of a cluster of people in most of their worlds.  
  
"God... Diversity among worlds sure is a *****."  
  
Vercetti and Vyse had immediately became pretty friendly once they stepped into the tournament grounds. They were both thieves, though their style of theivery was very different... Vercetti robbed from everyone and kept it, while Vyse was more like a "Robin Hood" in that he robbed from the rich and gave to the poor.  
  
But despite the differences between the two, they got along, and Vercetti could finally trust someone, as trust just isn't possible in the mob. It was a willing change for Vercetti... While others, like Tom Nook, always dealt with genuine, honest people in their lines of work back home, Tommy Vercetti was lucky if he dealt with one honest businessman a week.  
  
Vyse grinned.  
  
"Tommy, have you ever gone a day without swearing?"  
  
Vercetti shook his head, grinning. Ever since he was a kid, Tommy Vercetti had used what others likely viewed as impolite words in his vocabulary... That was just his way.  
  
"C'mon, kid. Let's go to Nook's."  
  
"Don't rob it."  
  
"Damn." 


	4. Getting to Know You

Greetings again… This is the fourth chapter in what will likely be over eighty. Today is the fanfiction.net debut of BigCow, who wrote these next three fics. You see, over a week in mid-to-late June… I was on vacation, and couldn't write anything. So I informed the readers, apologized for the lack of fics in the next week… But as it turned out, fics certainly showed up. BigCow was the first, but there would be others… (Furious J and StopPokingMe) that would write fics not unlike what I'd written so far, in a guest position to fill in while I was away.  I didn't request this, but it happened, and I'm happy it did.

When I first got back after my break, my reaction was one of "You hijacked my project!" for all of about five minutes. Then I read the fics… And many were quite good, certainly better and more numerous than what I put up. So eventually, we formed a writing team…

But for today, you have three entries from the illustrious BigCow.

A note on some inside jokes and the like in the fic…

The acronym "TJF" will appear in the story. This stands for "The Jug Factor". It was applied by people that were whining at the loss of their characters in the popularity contest at GameFAQs that these fics were based on, and, since there were pictures to go along with the poll, whenever a female character was up for voting, if that character was winning, people complained on the contest message board that it was all because of her… form in the picture. Specifically, her "jugs". 

Just saying it so that ya understand. There aren't too many of those jokes.

Without further ado… The fics.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DAY TWENTY-THREE 

_Sixty-four contestants, all heroes in their own minds. One winner. Didn't I already do this gig?_

Max Payne was in thought. The competition looked even stiffer than last year. Word had spread about the tournament since its last showing, and attracted some high profile new participants, which was made up by the fact that some of the last year's contestants were too humiliated to return. As for himself, he'd cleaned up in one battle, and had nothing to lose by trying again.  
  
It had shaken his confidence though. Like many of the competitors, they'd all believed themselves to be unbeatable-but when faced with an opponent with abilities and experience as widely ranged as theirs... well, someone has to lose. One winner, and sixty-three losers.  
  
Max once again turned to study the winner of last year's tournament, as many of the participants had. A Hyrulian named Link. He seemed so young and helpless in comparison to some of the other fighters... but it just goes to show you, can't underestimate anyone. And you don't count a man out who's fighting for all he has. _And that goes for me as well..._  
  
Max turned again. One of the few female fighters sat on a rock in the middle of a field, polishing her guns. She hardly seemed interested in male company, and had proven to have both a short fuse, and the weaponry to make good on a threat. Max smiled to himself. _Well, let's see if I've still got it._  
  
"Nice guns."  
  
The woman's eyes looked up, and narrowed. "The name is Lara Croft. And you are?"  
  
"Max Payne." _Great, an icicle in woman's clothing. It's not like I wanted a real conversation anyway._  
  
She gave him and his pistol a once over, and nodded. "And what do you want?"  
  
Max decided against being cordial and offering a duel, or a chance to sharpen their skills. _Detachment can't hide you from the world forever. Might as well crack that shell. _  
  
Max smiled sardonically. "So, ever heard of TJF?"  
  
***  
  
Magus watched from a distance as two of the contestants minced words. He had little respect for the gunfighters. Crono had annihilated several of their greatest before, including the woman who was currently being mocked by the stranger named Max Payne. The fighters had skill enough with their weapons, but lacked the flexibility of a true warrior like himself. If he had only his scythe they might be a threat-but all the ammunition, weapons, and tools in the world could not match the power of the elemental forces. Pure darkness was at his command.  
  
_And yet, they still try. Why must the weak fight impossible battles? _But that had applied to him as well. There was a time when he saw Lavos as undefeatable-no more.   
  
The fighters regained his attention when the female flipped her pistols into her hand and pointed them at Max's head.  
  
"Well, it's been lovely, but I've had enough of a chat for now."  
  
Oddly enough, the male fighter did not move. His face bespoke mild amusement, and concentration. He was a man you did not cross under most circumstances, and the woman who was in a position to blow his head off clearly didn't intimidate him.  
  
Max took a step backwards. "About time you got serious." He pulled his pistol out in a smooth motion.  
  
This caught Magus's interest. All of the entrants had agreed not to harm the contest by eliminating any one else before the matches began-this could possibly wipe out one of his adversaries.  
  
"You'll live, but hopefully this'll teach you some manners," Lara calmly said. She held her pistols straight, then let loose a volley towards his chest.   
  
Magus had just enough time to see Max smile... then in a blur of motion, he turned and dived out of the way of fire. _Impressive, but I sense something odd..._ Magus thought.  
  
Lara snorted, but turned to face him, her guns firing in from both sides so he couldn't dodge out of the way. Magus watched as Max seemed to bend, twist, and duck his way through her shower of bullets. _He's just toying with her, _Magus realized.  
  
Lara emptied her clip and stared in disbelief as Max smirked at her through the smoke. He raised his pistol and in two clean shots knocked the guns out of her hands.  
  
She looked him in the eye. "If I'd had any heavy weaponry, you'd be dead you know."  
  
"Yeah, well I didn't want you breaking the rules." He continued to smirk. "See you around."   
  
Magus realized what he had sensed about the gunfighter named Max. One didn't do as much time traveling as he had without becoming attuned to certain aspects of the temporal plane... he stopped Max as he was walking away.  
  
"Time Manipulation. An impressive trick."  
  
Max looked at the stranger in surprise. _How does he know...? No use lying._   
  
"Something like that. I can focus to a certain extent... hard to explain..."  
  
Magus nodded. "It'll get you far among these cretins." Max began to feel a little uncomfortable as the dark wizard sized him up. "Don't think it can save you from everything though."  
  
Max nodded. His mind flashed back to the fight with Scorpion. All the time in the world hadn't been enough to save him from a martial artist whose powers went beyond what he had believed to be possible.   
  
"I'll do what I can." Max said, as he looked the wizard in the eye. "None of us are invincible. Only fools and cowards back down from a challenge greater than themselves. It's better to go down in flames than walk away and wonder what you could have done."  
  
Magus nodded, and began to walk away. "Good luck fighter."  
  
Max returned the greeting. "Good luck to you too."  
  
Max shivered a little. A creepy sort of wind seemed to follow the wizard as he left. _Well, that was interesting. I'm glad I won't be seeing him in the arena for a while._

DAY TWENTY-FOUR 

Sleek orange and yellow metal surrounded her body in a mesh of color designed not for stealth, but to intimidate foes and warn adversaries of her potential. An energy blaster took up the spot where her hand would be. Her entire suit was a masterpiece of natural and mechanical engineering-designed by the Chozos to create the ultimate fighter. She was a bounty hunter. It was in her nature to keep her spirit as distant from the concerns of others as her body was cut off from the outside world. Her sole window to the rest of the world was through the visor in her helmet.  
  
But she was still human. When the leaders of her race had called on her to eliminate the Metroid threat, she had done her duty-and fought harder than she ever had imagined doing for herself. She had proven herself as relentless in saving mankind from the Metroids as she had in purusing its criminals for money.  
  
She was still human. Underneath the metal skin was a very real and emotional being. _Emotion's a liability in this line of work. But you aren't working now, geez. _Samus thought. _Lighten up a little, you're around your actual peers for once, it wouldn't kill you to open up._  
  
She sighed. She was still human. A fact which the red robot apparently had not picked up on. He (she wasn't comfortable referring to a robot as "it") was nearly as tall as her, and ironically more humanoid in appearance. He had long blonde hair, a blaster not unlike hers, and what looked like a saber in a holster behind his back. He also had quite a chatty nature.  
  
"Hey there. Didn't think I'd run into any more robots out here. What's your name?"  
  
"Samus... Samus Aran. Sorry, but I'm not-"  
  
"Yeah, great to meet you, Samus. HEY MEGAMAN, I FOUND ANOTHER ONE!"  
  
The red robot called out to what looked like no one in particular. In a few seconds though, a blue robot bounded over a hill, with a smaller robot in tow. Samus wondered idly if the two had used some kind of communicator to talk to each other, and the shouting was just for her benefit.  
  
"Hey Zero! I found this cool boss, but he won't let me have his weapon."  
  
Samus studied the blue robot. The red robot... Zero, that was it... he looked more grown up somehow, and carried himself confidently. This one looked more like a boy. And of course, being a robot, he would likely never change from his state of infancy. Samus had to consider what kind of creative mind would build a robot with such a personality, or why a fighting robot like Zero would be built for that matter.   
  
"What... that's not a boss, let me take a look at it."  
  
At Zero's insistence, MegaMan dropped the smaller robot on the ground. This one had a blue body, pink shoes, and a white head... and an impish voice. "I'm Bomberman, and don't try to boss me around!"  
  
"See, he's Bomber Man!" MegaMan argued. "I need to fight him so I can take his Bomber Gun!"  
  
Zero smiled. "I'm not sure you'd want that one. And look, he's not one of Dr. Wily's robots, he's just like you and me, another good guy."  
  
MegaMan sighed. "Oh. Rats. I wanted to get some more weapons before the fight!"  
  
Zero shook his head, and turned to Samus. "He's a little too enthusiastic, but a good guy, and don't underestimate him." He turned back to MegaMan. "Anyway, MegaMan, and Mr. Bomberman, this is another robot friend, Mr. Samus-"  
  
Samus spoke for the second time. "Wrong on both counts, sorry. Miss Samus Aran. I'm a woman, not a robot. Call me Samus. Nice to meet you all."  
  
Zero looked a little uncomfortable. "Sorry, with your gun and metal body, I just assumed..."  
  
"Yeah, and with your long hair I assumed you were a woman. What are the odds, huh?" She smiled. She was beginning to warm up to the robots. "Here, in case you don't believe me..."  
  
She pulled off her helmet and let loose cascading blonde hair. She shook her hair out. "Eh, helmet hair. So, I shoot things for a living. What's your guys's story?"  
  
Bomberman was the first to pipe up. "I like bombs!" The little robot whipped one out of nowhere, and chucked it over the hill he was carried up. Samus watched with interest. Her own bombs were nowhere near that size-but then, she didn't have to worry about blowing herself up.  
  
In a few seconds, the bomb detonated, and the group of them got to see a very annoyed CATS running down the hill, with his hair on fire. "AUUGH! SOMEONE SET UP US THE BOMB!"  
  
Samus chuckled. "Moving on. What about you Mega boy?"  
  
MegaMan didn't seem to mind the crack, and started talking right away. "I fight bad robots for Dr. Light, and when I beat them, I get to take their weapons."  
  
Samus cocked an eyebrow. "Interesting. I guess you'll be taking Mr. Resetti's power pretty soon, huh? Look out! MegaMan's going to make us save our games right!"  
  
The others chuckled, and Zero spoke up again. "Yeah, Megaman and I are pretty similar. Robots fighting robots-seems like a nice idea for a TV series."   
  
Samus smiled. A robotic sense of humor, who would of thought?  
  
The four of them ended up spending the rest of the day together. They had a surprising amount in common between them, and were able to discuss ways in which they kept working on and improving their weaponry. One of the most amusing moments came when Tommy Vercetti showed up.   
  
"Hey girl! Why don't you ditch that Zero and get yourself a hero?" He grinned at her... then began to back away slowly and watched his grin fade as Megaman, Zero, and Samus all began to charge their weapons in his direction. They had a good laugh at his expense, and Samus found herself liking the odd robots.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll see you later" Samus offered when the day was over. "Good luck out there when the fight starts."  
  
"Yeah, no sweat." Megaman offered.  
  
"I'll do my best." commented Zero.   
  
"You too!" chimed Bomberman.  
  
Samus watched them walk off. They all seemed like nice 'bots... but "nice" doesn't get you very far against raw power. Still... they all were flexible enough with their weaponry to give several opponents a run for their money.   
  
_And as for me..._ Samus wondered. _I might as well try again, I did well enough last time. Just one more week, and we'll see how I stack up this year. Here's hoping._

DAY TWENTY-FIVE 

_Alone. And outnumbered sixty-three to one. Eh, I've survived worse._  
  
The fox shook his head as he surveyed the fighters all killing time until the tournament started. Last year he had been knocked out in the first round. He'd been unlucky enough to start out against one of the veteran contestants, and his own lack of hand to hand combat skills certainly hadn't helped. _What I wouldn't give to be in an Arwing right now..._ he mused.  
  
He was Fox McCloud, the son of James McCloud. And out of all the heroics accomplished by the sixty four competitors, his achievement was arguably the greatest-he liberated an entire solar system from enslavement. Sure, Samus destroyed the plague of Metroids that threaten to wreak havoc on the order of the galaxy-but he had done with his four Arwings what an entire army could not. He had gone from planet to planet, destroyed Andross's incursions into the Lylat System, and finally beaten the evil ape himself. To be fair, he did have the element of surprise, a level of skill and experience which outmatched Andross's best pilots, and the best wingmen any pilot could hope for.  
  
_But they're not here now,_ Fox thought. _It's just me. Falco would be itching to fight by now. Peppy would probably be better than me at anticipating what the other fighters would do. Heck, I'd even take Slippy right now._  
  
Fox studied the other fighters. He was a tactician by nature. He knew about how armies operated, and how a battle worked on a very large scale-but one on one combat was still wildly unpredictable.   
  
He knew his own skills were better suited to flying, but he had to take the role he was chosen for. Being a fox, he still had a manuverability, speed, and reflexes which more than likely outmatched any of his competition, and his blaster enabled him to keep the battle at a distance if he so chose-and he had learned a lot about fighting in close quarters since saving the Dinosaur Planet.  
  
Sam Fisher, Dante, Gordan Freeman, Master Chief, Max Payne, and Tommy Vercetti-they were all gunfighters it seemed. He knew their guns weren't quite like his, but they had more in common with him then he did with Samus, Zero, and MegaMan, whose preferred method of fighting was varied energy blasts. He was somewhere in between the two groups of fighters-and he would feel fairly comfortable going up against either one-they would use similar strategy to him, and he hoped his speed would give him an edge.  
  
Then there were the swordfighters. Squall, Auron, Ramza, Alucard, Vyse, Cloud... Cloud. He was the fighter who shared his name, and had humiliated him last year. It was a close range battle, and his opponent also had various magical forces at his command. Not good. _But moving on..._  
  
Link was also a sword fighter, at least in part. He also seemed to have some kind of magic he could use. If Fox won his first fight, he would likely end up facing Link-which wasn't too encouraging. _At least I could say I lost to the champion this time, _Fox thought.  
  
Crono also seemed like Cloud in his use of magic and weapons... but they were all a ways away. His first opponent was a little enigma named Pikachu. The little rat always seemed buzzing with energy. Electrical energy, as it turned out. Watching the creature zip around, Fox had his doubts about whether his speed would be enough. Under different circumstances he might consider adopting the little thing as a pet, now, it was just an obstacle to his advancement.  
  
_Well, play it safe. You may not have to keep your distance, but try not to get shocked._  
  
Fox was interrupted from his strategic reverie by a tall man with shades and a blonde crew cut. He also had what many of the contestants would have referred to as a BFG-Big Friggin' Gun. He had ammo strapped to belts on his chest. _Apparently I missed one of the gunfighters..._  
  
"I'm Fox McCloud, nice to meet you." He offered his hand to the stranger who shook it, with a smile on his face.  
  
"Pleasure's all mine. Duke Nukem. And no, I'm not royalty in my dimension, my name is actually Duke. I saw you checking us all out. We've got some freaky types out here, huh?"  
  
Fox wondered if that applied more to himself or to Duke. "Yeah... it's just a little hard to guess what's going to happen."  
  
"Eh, don't worry about it." Duke grinned. "These guys may look tough, but if I know anything, it's that there's nothing enough ammunition won't take care of. You just keep blasting away and anything has to crumble eventually."  
  
_Nice Philosophy,_ Fox thought.  
  
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."  
  
"Yeah... watch your back kid."  
  
Duke Nukem fired a dozen round burst over the heads of a couple well-known Italian plumbers and laughed as they stared at him questioningly.   
  
"If you're not watching your front, that is." Duke continued. "See ya Fox."  
  
Duke walked away, apparently looking for some more diversions that involved leaving a trail of smoke and noise. He seemed reckless... but that's what everyone always told Fox as well. Without being as foolhardy as he had, he never would have tried taking on Andross.  
  
_Never give up. Trust your instincts._ Fox reminded himself, quoting Peppy. He had a shot, he knew, and might as well give it everything he had.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

And as more writers came into the project… The project became more and more epic, and we all improved tremendously. This was the start of that… You'll see the finish in a few months.

A reminder… If you want to see the brackets for the tournament, which include the 64 characters that we are writing for, then try the link in my profile.

(A note… I can italicize things in this story, as you may have noticed. But bold isn't working for me… Anyone know why?)


	5. Stories to Tell

Three more entries… The Wario and Alucard based fics are written by Furious J, and the Gordon/Jill based fic is written by StopPokingMe.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**DAY TWENTY-SIX**

Wario was sitting around at the cafeteria, flipping his favorite gold coin. Unlike most of the other contestants, he wasn't here to prove himself.  He really didn't care how he placed in the contest, there was only one reason why he was there, and it was the only thing Wario ever cared about. Gold coins.  He hadn't even planned to participate until he'd heard about the tremendous cash prizes, and they were... substantial to say the least. He chuckled to himself, "If all-a goes according to-a plan, I should make-a quite-a the pretty penny."

  
Although, the fact that he would get a chance to take on his moronic half, Mario, had not eluded him. He knew he couldn't beat him, though lord knows he'd tried, but perhaps he could injure him, so he could be beaten in a subsequent round. Crono caught his eye, and he thought, "If I can just-a hurt Mario, Crono will-a whoop-a Mario's butt-a." Bowser came over and took a seat. While Wario and Bowser weren't what you would call friends they both certainly enjoyed the prospect of Crono's katana finding Mario's skull.  Bowser said, "Wario, you think you'll have any problem getting to Mario."   
  
"Hey look-a who-a you talking to. The day I-a lose to a black-a rat with-a the sneakers is the day I-a give-a all-a my gold to-a the charity."  
  
"Glad, to hear it Wario. Now, I want you to use this..."  
  
Bowser looked around to make sure no one was looking, and then he pulled a small safe out from under his arm. Wario was amazed at how tense the security on the safe was. First, Bowser had to open a ten-pin code, then a fingerprint scan, then voice activation. Suddenly the safe opened. And Bowser took another check to make sure no one was looking and pulled out... a banana peel. Wario's chair went toppling backwards at the sight; even he couldn't believe Bowser was ready to go to such serious lengths to injure Mario.  
  
"What-a do you-a think-a you're-a doing?!?!?!"  
  
"Relax, its not armed."  
  
"You-a want me to-a use that on-a Mario?"  
  
"Hey, I thought you were ready to go all the way, and besides if you use this correctly, maybe you'll even beat Mario. The code is 8-14-53-2-12-36-22-13-1, I already set it to read your voice and finger prints." Bowser said as he gave, the box to Wario.  
  
Wario thought about it for a second and then tucked the safe away into one of the pockets on his purple overalls, "Lets see-a just how good-a Mario is-a."  
  
Bowser got up, and shortly after, so did Wario. He was bored here at the cafeteria, plus, Pac-Man seemed to be on an eating rampage, and he didn't feel like being consumed by a yellow circle today. As he walked out of the cafeteria, who should he run into but Shadow the Hedgehog. Well it was more like Shadow who ran into him, and fast, like really fast. When both warriors came to an hour or so later, there eyes met shortly and then Shadow blasted off. A loud "Hey watch-a wear-a you going!" blaring from Wario's lungs behind him.

  
Shadow was quite upset at the time, even though he and Sonic had teamed up to defeat Dr. Robotnik and his evil schemes, Shadow had really looked forward to facing him in the tournament. A chance to show that he was in fact, the ultimate life form. However, when the brackets came out he and Sonic had been placed in opposite conferences, meaning he would have to advance to the finals to have any chance of facing and defeating Sonic, and deep down, he had a feeling that even if he did make it there Sonic would not. So, the normally cold and focused Shadow, was upset, brimming with rage, he didn't care about Wario, he didn't care about anyone, except Sonic. 

He muttered to himself, "Come to think of it… I would like a shot at those weaklings Knuckles and Tails too."

**DAY TWENTY-SEVEN**

_Darkness Falls_  
  
The contestants, who had been bustling about through Nook's, the Arena, the Cafeteria, and other places, slowly returned to the hotel for a long nights sleep to prepare for the difficult battles ahead. All but one....  
  
Alucard awoke.  
  
Having a good day's rest he decided to walk in the moonlight. He transformed into a bat, and flew over to a cliff overlooking the ocean. "It's quite peaceful here. You wouldn't know that in several days, fights to the death would be held in this same area."   
  
He began to prepare for his match ahead, even though it was a long ways away. Who was he fighting... ah yes the Bomber Man, or something of that nature. They said when it came to explosives there was no one better. Suddenly he unleashed an enormous fireball into the ocean. The explosion unleashed a 30-foot high wave onto the rocky shore, a smug grin flew across his face. He smiled as he transformed into a bat and flew back to the hotel.  
  
----  
  
_3:24 AM_  
  
"AAAAH! No!" The scream cut through the otherwise silent night.  
  
In her room, almost by instinct, Jill Valentine leapt from her bed and grabbed her pistol. _Oh God, not here too!_ she thought as she raced out her door. It was nearby, perhaps the next room over. With luck, she could make it in time to save the victim.  
  
_Which contestant was in league with the corporation? Which one had brought the virus?_  
  
She approached the door to the next room and, hearing nothing, feared the worst. Gun at the ready, she charged and kicked in the door. The thing that surely lurked on the other side would have no time to react. It gave easily.  
  
The last thing the man in the bed was expecting was a woman to come crashing through the door. "Don't shoot!" he yelled, fumbling for his glasses and his gun. She didn't. Jill looked around, confused and still apprehensive.  
  
"I heard a yell from in here. Are you OK?" she asked.  
  
"I'm fine, it's just..."  
  
"Nothing, um, out of the ordinary?" She was still keeping a wary eye on the closet door and the shadows in the far corner.  
  
"No, I..." he stammered. It was hard to admit this, and the fact that his audience was a scantily-clad beautiful woman didn't help. Still, she seemed truly concerned. "I have terrifying nightmares. They seem so impossible, but somewhere they're real. You don't want to know the things I've seen."  
  
It was the last statement that really caught Jill by surprise. Could he also have been a survivor? She decided to approach the subject cautiously. "The name's Jill Valentine. I understand where you're coming from, buddy. All too well. Have you ever heard of Raccoon City?"  
  
"No, never. Oh, I'm Gordon Freeman. You know, I expected you wouldn't be so understanding. The others mostly thought I was crazy."  
  
Perhaps he had seen something else? "I've seen things that make me wish I was. Ever hear of the Umbrella Corporation?"  
  
"Umbrella... yeah, sounds familiar. I think they worked with us as an on-base contractor a few years ago... I don't remember." Freeman had finally found someone here who he could relate to. He pitied the woman.  
  
"I know I can't sleep after I'm reminded of... them. Do you want to go get something to eat?" asked Jill. This Freeman knew something, she was sure of it. He seemed like he was on her side, though. What was he hiding?  
  
"Sure, let me get dressed. I can't either." Jill went back to her room to do the same. They met outside a few minutes later. "You know, everyone here is fighting for something--wealth, power, fame, achieving a dream," said Gordon. "Why are you here?"  
  
"I'll fight because... because the longer I'm here, the longer it is before I have to go back," said Jill. Gordon nodded knowingly.  
  
At this hour, few of the contestants were awake. The two reached the cafeteria, the hollow eyes of the creature Raziel following them from its rooftop perch. Jill opened the door cautiously, out of habit. Once inside, though, neither could find any food. "It's a wonder there's any food here ever, with Pac-Man, Kirby, and Yoshi around," remarked Gordon. Jill smiled at the thought of the innocent creatures. Apparently, some worlds were not like hers at all. "I guess I'll go back to my room..." said Gordon, "unless..."  
  
She had to keep him here, keep him talking. Whatever he knew could be of use--could keep her alive back home. "Let's have a drink," said Jill. Gordon agreed, as she knew he would. He was still rattled. He seemed like the bookish type... "So, tell me more about yourself... do you have a favorite author?"  
  
"Ever read anything by Harry Mason?"  
  
----  
  
The time of the sun was nearing, he grimly landed in his room.  
  
Alucard slept.  
  
The contestants began to awaken, ready for another day of trash talking, sizing up their opponents, shopping for weapons and such, and practice to prepare for the difficult battles ahead. All but one...  
  
_Daylight Breaks_


	6. For Their Own Motives

Chapter 6 already… We'll be up to the first match in two days.

This was around the time when I came back from vacation… And noticed the topic on the boards had received some additions while I was gone. My initial reaction was of a bit of anger… I had started this up with a definite storyline in mind, and I thought that these new additions that people had made would do nothing but mess me up.

However… I read them. And I liked them. And I realized… This wasn't something I could do myself.

So I immediately contacted BigCow, Furious J, and StopPokingMe, the three writers you saw fics from in the last three chapters. They agreed to a joint effort, and the writing team as we know it was born.

Later that day… I received an email from a reader. A Sonic fan, in fact… And that was notable to me, because having 4 Sonic characters in the project with none of the four established authors knowing about the Sonic team much was a problem. He offered his services as a writer… And I just took it on faith from his email (from grammar, stating, etc.) that he would work for the project.

He did not disappoint. This chapter is about the events of Day Twenty-Nine in the project's time, two days before the first match. Dan Bonez, the Sonic fan I spoke of, made his debut with this fic, and I contributed my first fic since my return… A story about events at Tom Nook's store.

------------------------------------------------------------

DAY TWENTY-NINE 

A large gust of wind flew by, ruffling the leaves of a great big tree outside of the humongous stadium set to house the great character battle. Sitting under this tree was a familiar, yellow, two-failed fox. His name was Miles Prower, but he preferred to be called by his nickname, "Tails". Right now, Tails's big blue eyes were fixated on a stopwatch he held in his hand, as a blue streak flew by again, followed by another large gust of wind. "ONLY ONE MORE LAP TO GO SONIC!" Tails yelled. He had been doing this all day with Sonic… That is, timing to see how quickly he could run fifty laps around this massive stadium.  
  
Only seconds after the words left his mouth, the gust of wind flew by once again and Sonic was standing in front of him. "What's my time, lil' buddy?" said Sonic, grinning confidently, adjusting his spines that had become ruffled during his run.  
  
"Only 34.3 seconds this time, Sonic. You cut about ten seconds off compared to your last run," Tails reported astutely, pressing a button the stopwatch to clear the time.  
  
"Yeah, this time I didn't trip on that little monkey in a ball!" Sonic interjected. He took a seat next to Tails and began fiddling with one of the bright golden buckles on his shoes.  
  
"You want to go again Sonic?" Tails said, hopefully. They had taken turns helping each other get ready for their upcoming matches. Tails would time Sonic as he ran around the stadium, or a few times, they raced against each other, with Tails doing his best to keep up with Sonic. They even sparred a little bit. They never did anything too hard though; Sonic always said Tails was too young. Tails looked over at Sonic, who seemed preoccupied trying to remove a smudge of dirt from his shoe. "Sonic?" Tails asked, nudging him a little to get his attention.  
  
"Oh, sorry. Nah, not today bud... I don't think this running laps is gonna help my chances much. I'm already the fastest guy here," Sonic said, confidently. "Maybe I should go work with Knuckles some more. I could use a little strength training."  
  
Tails looked down at the ground and began playing with the grass, a little saddened. "Can I come this time?" He asked hopefully, but he already knew what Sonic's answer would be.  
  
"You're a little too young to be sparring with me and Knuckles. And you know how Knuckles is when he's sparring. He takes that stuff way past serious." Tails had already heard this a million times in the past few weeks. It's always, you're too little, and he was getting a little frustrated. He wished he were strong like Knuckles, or super-fast like Sonic sometimes. He could fly, but that wasn't much of an advantage when you had to fight a guy with a big sword.  
  
Sonic hopped up off the ground. "I'd better go catch Rad Red before he starts climbing up that stadium again. I hate waiting for him. He's too dang slow!" Tails stood up too and before Sonic could dash off, he stood in front of him.  
  
"How am I supposed to win my match if I don't spar with you and Knuckles. I'll never be strong enough, you know," Tails said, crossing his arms over his chest and using his best "pouty" face.  
  
Sonic scratched his head, and then looked down at Tails, his lips stretching into that familiar Sonic smirk. "Look, Tails... I don't know everything but... this tournament is not about who's the fastest, or strongest. It's about using your abilities the best you can. You don't have to be something you are not." Sonic's words were not reassuring; they just brought up more questions.  
  
"But all I can do is fly! How am I supposed to win a fight by just flying around?" Tails complained, letting out a little of his frustration. Tails stared up at Sonic's big green eyes, hoping that Sonic would take him along. "Tails.." Sonic started, "That's not all you can do. I'd bet you're smarter than anyone here, especially when it comes to building things. You showed Robuttnik up a bunch of times with your inventions and all he DOES is build robots! So, use that!"  
  
----  
  
Business was booming at Nook's.  
  
Most of the characters in the so called "North Division", which had nothing to do with location, but just consisted of 16 random characters from the tournament, were now stocking up on everything that they would need for the coming matches. In the coming week, they would have their first battles of the tournament... And for half of them, their last.  
  
Tidus and Yuna were in the shop, as usual. The duo and Nook had grown to be very good friends, and it turned out that the two of them spent a lot of time in the shop just talking to Nook and the various people that were shopping. To the disdain of Auron, the red-clad warrior had barely been able to drag Tidus away from the shop and Yuna to train, as Tidus just didn't want to be separated from Yuna. Tidus knew that he could be gone forever from Yuna again, and banished to the Farplane, within only a month of seeing the love of his life again.  
  
But Ganondorf, sneering at Tidus from the corner of Nook's store, did not care for the emotions of Tidus. He wanted to advance to the next round, and the idea of breaking Tidus's heart in two places, both Tidus's competitive spirit and his desire to be with Yuna, did not feel Ganondorf with evil... It filled him with glee.  
  
Ganondorf was pure evil.  
  
Ganondorf, still wearing his sneer, walked up to Tidus, who was chatting with Tom Nook about the swords and katanas at the store, and interrupted the blonde-haired man.  
  
"Enjoying your last few days here, kid?"  
  
Tidus's face started out in a shocked grimace, shocked that even Ganondorf would be this so malicious to him... But his face changed to his cocky smile quickly enough. He had trained himself to stay happy... And he would stay that way.  
  
"Don't you think you're being a little hasty in your confidence of victory, man? My sword and magic is just as powerful as anything you've got."  
  
"Yeah, right. Better say goodbye to all your friends before you leave, kid, cause your time in the stadium with me will be your last. You'll never see your precious girlfriend again, how do you lik..."  
  
Tidus's face, gradually contorting with fury, turned into a visage that signaled of how he was likely about to go into complete rage... But he did not. Before Tidus and Ganondorf came to blows, someone slipped between them.  
  
Someone with a scythe.  
  
Magus, the last of ancient Zeal, faced Ganondorf with an iron gaze. He had watched the verbal fight between the Zanarkand boy and the enemy of Hyrule, and it had finally gone too far for his liking.  
  
"What's wrong, Magus? Why aren't you fighting off the heroes like all villains should, and siding with me?" Said Ganondorf, that sneer still on the villain's face.  
  
Magus said nothing to this at first. He just closed his eyes for a minute, and kept his face determined. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open... And they weren't their old color. They had gone jet black.  
  
"Get. Out."  
  
Magus's anger had never been more pronounced, in any other time people had seen him. Shocked at this sudden fury, Ganondorf backed away, the sneer suddenly gone.  
  
"What's wrong, Magus? Feeling for the kid? Emotion's a weakness! Anyone who feels emotion in fighting is bound for failure!"  
  
Magus was past words now. A tiny black hole was starting to grow in his hand, and as it started to grow bigger than Magus's hand, Ganondorf's eyes widened. He ran out the door as quickly as he possibly could, and even then, only just missed being sucked into the black hole that had been flung at him as he left. But as was his nature… He shot one look of pure malice at Magus as he fled the shop. It was clear that the warlock would not forget the events of this day.  
  
In awe, Tidus, Yuna, Nook, as well as Luigi, Fox, and Pikachu, who had also been in the shop, stared at the blue haired wizard. It took a minute for the warlock to be fully calm again, and when it was, he turned to Tidus.  
  
"I only helped you because I can identify with you."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Just beat him."  
  
Magus left the store, in a flash of light. He had teleported off to the cliff... Where he could be calm. The ranting of a crazy villain, dead set on separating the boy from all he cared of… It wasn't nice to watch. And it was all too familiar.  
  
Tidus was still glum, once Magus had left. The words of Ganondorf had brought things home for the blonde-haired man, and his cheerful attitude was gone.  
  
"It's alright," whispered Yuna, peacefully. "Everything'll be alright... Don't worry. Don't let him get to you."  
  
The tanuki at the counter, Tom Nook, nodded.  
  
"Underestimating someone is what makes people lose the most, Tidus. If he keeps that mindset, you'll beat him, I know you will."  
  
"It's-a going to be alright for you-a..." Luigi added, as the plumber left Tidus, who was calming down.  
  
"I won't let him get to me. I'll just beat him," Tidus said, with his old confidence. "Maybe it's good that I hate him. It makes things easier."  
  
Luigi returned to the magic enhancement aisle of Nook's store, where Fox and Pikachu were shopping. Well, Fox was shopping. Pikachu was just knocking random things off the store tables.  
  
"Pikachu, you can't beat me if you can't use those items," said the smiling Fox, as he saw Pikachu's hopeless antics.  
  
However, the little electric rodent was not so sure. Welling up energy in his cheeks, he unleashed thunder upon Fox, as well as blowing a small hole in Nook's roof.  
  
Mr. Resetti popped up from the floor as if on command as Pikachu finished his attack on Fox, and he saw the little Pokemon's grin. It didn't take long for the mole to put two and two together, and figure out the cause of the destruction.  
  
"Out! Out! Vandal!"  
  
All the customers of the store laughed as Pikachu was chased out of the shop by the pickaxe-wielding mole, with Luigi's high pitched laugh sticking out.  
  
But their eyes were still on the prize. For Nook, he wanted his shop to be a success. For Luigi, he wanted to prove something to his brother. For Pikachu, it didn't know what it wanted to do. For Tidus and Yuna, they just wanted to stay together as long as they could.  
  
But Magus, Ganondorf, Fox, and a few others were here for only one reason. To win. And their trials would begin within the week.  
  
----  
  
Sonic sped by across the stadium grounds, causing a few people to turn their heads at the blue streak and the sudden gust of wind, wondering what it was. He had accidentally stepped on some squirrel's tail on the way. "Who just touched my ***?" The foul-mouthed squirrel blurted out quickly, but Sonic was already too far away to hear the response, and he could care less. He was busy looking around for Knuckles. He'd dash a few yards, stop, and yell out for him, and waiting a little for a response. After about ten minutes of that, he stopped, put his gloved-hands on his hips, and tapped his foot on the ground. "Where the heck is Knuckles?"  
  
"Who ya lookin' for?" The voice from behind startled Sonic slightly. Sonic turned on his heel and saw a human walking towards him, finely dressed with dark, slicked back hair.  
  
"I'm looking for a red echidna called Knuckles. Seen him?" Sonic asked, raising a blue brow.  
  
"What the hell is an echidna?" The man asked in return, genuinely perplexed.  
  
"I guess you haven't seen him then."  
  
"Maybe I'll run into him. Knuckles, you say his name was? Sounds like a tough guy to me. My kinda guy." The man said, nodding his head.  
  
"Tough guy? Rad Red? Ha! He wishes." Sonic scoffed, still looking around to see if he could catch sight of his friendly nemesis. The man just chuckled at Sonic's response. Suddenly, a little commotion was heard off in the distance behind a few bushes. Sonic dashed over there, reaching the bushes in a split second. "Caught ya Red!" But, it wasn't Knuckles who emerged from the bush. It was that strange monkey in a ball that Sonic had run into earlier. He looked like he was running from someone; or, rolling from someone. Only a few seconds later, the ninja clad in yellow and black came chasing after the monkey-ball. Sonic tried to remember his name... Scorpion, was it?  
  
"GET OVER HERE! You crazy monkey!" Scorpion shouted, chasing off after the monkey, shooting a hook and rope out of his forearm. The man with the greased hair came up running behind Sonic, huffing and puffing. "You know...-huff-... you're pretty fast for a porcupine."  
  
Sonic glared over at the man, slightly offended that he couldn't even get Sonic's species right. "And you're pretty slow for a human. I ain't no porcupine pal. I'm a Hedgehog. And the name's Sonic."  
  
"Porcupine, hedgehog, same difference to me man. I'm Tommy. Tommy Vercetti. Like I was saying, you're pretty damn fast." Tommy said, looking almost giddy, as he stared down at the blue hedgehog.  
  
"Yeah, so? I'm fast. I know that. If you'll excuse me, I have to go find my big-knuckled bud-" Sonic was interrupted as Vercetti held up his hands in protest. "Wait wait wait, my little spiney friend. When I see a good opportunity, I go after it. And this looks like a good opportunity." Vercetti was still grinning like a Cheshire cat, rubbing his hands together excitedly. Sonic just ran a hand through his spines, looking a little confused.  
  
"Opportunity?" Sonic asked.  
  
"Let me explain a little bit. Ya see, everyone in this little tournament dealy has an advantage. You know, guns, strength, speed, hocus-pocus, all that crap. Me? I'm a thief... but, there's really nothing I can easily lift here, you know what I'm sayin'? Cars? Ain't here. Weapons? Guns-a-plenty, but all held by people I don't wanna get into it with. Cash? The only guy with cash is that crazy raccoon Nook, and he's in his store twenty four-seven."  
  
Sonic nodded, now understanding what Vercetti was so excited about. "Ooooohh. So you want me.. To use my super speed and go steal some stuff for you?" Sonic said this with a hint of skeptism and sarcasm. He wasn't a petty thief.  
  
"No no no, not just stuff, SPANK."  
  
"Uhh... SPANK?" Sonic said inquisitively.  
  
"Money, cash, dinero? You know, SPANK. Everyone's been in Nook's store and I bet he's got thousands of dollars just laying around. He's rolling in it!" Sonic could almost see dollar signs in Tommy's eyes.  
  
"Yeah, whatever you say buddy. That is so not way past cool, and you are just cramping my style. Catch ya later, ga-" Vercetti interrupted his exit again, shouting something quickly before Sonic was about to dash off.  
  
"I can make it worth your while!"  
  
Sonic stopped, skidding on the ground a little, and looked back at Vercetti, intrigued. "How ya going to do that?"  
  
"Well, word around the grapevine is that you lost that that space-chick all decked out in the armor last year at this thing. Must be tough, losing to a girl and all... "  
  
Sonic reflected back on that match last year. He had beaten all of the previous opponents solely with his speed, catching them off-guard with some quick blows and his trademark Sonic Spin. He couldn't do that to Samus, however... mainly because of her armor and that tricky ice beam-thingy that froze Sonic in his tracks. He was hoping he would get a chance to face her again this year...  
  
"I figured, you help me get some money, I can help you take her out of this tournament, Tanya Harding-style. A hammer busting up her suit could take care of her real quick."  
  
Sonic grinned. He couldn't believe this guy... but, suddenly, he had an idea. Mischievous as he was, he couldn't resist doing it. "Tanya WHO!?" He blurted out, still grinning ear to ear.  
  
"Nevermind that. So, whattya say? In or out?"  
  
"In." Vercetti barely even got to hear what Sonic said before the blue blur sped off towards Nook's shop. Vercetti looked around, confused, but only moments later Sonic returned with a handful of cash.  
  
"This what you had in mind?" Sonic said, grinning proudly, holding the stack of cash between his hands as if it were a trophy.  
  
"Holy **** that was fast! Can you get more?" Vercetti reached at the money but Sonic moved back a little.  
  
" I could, but I ain't going to." Vercetti ran a hand through his greased hair and looked down at the hedgehog, looking a little ticked off.  
  
"Why the hell not?" Vercetti demanded, still trying to grab at the money, but Sonic kept moving out of his reach.  
  
"Because... you're... a... CHUMP!" Sonic dashed off and began to run circles around Vercetti, creating a slight tornado of wind that hand enough force to lift Vercetti a few feet off the ground, and when Sonic stopped he landed straight on his butt. Sonic then jumped on Vercetti's chest and dangled the money in front of his face.  
  
"Hey Tommy, did everyone ever tell you that you're ugly and you dress funny?" Tommy just shook his head "no", the expression on his face a cross of extreme rage and complete shock.  
  
"Well, let me be the first... you're ugly and you dress funny!" Sonic flashed him a quick grin, and when Tommy tried to grab him the blue blur was gone with a gust of wind trailing behind him. He muttered a few curses under his breath and got up off the ground, wiping the dirt off his clothes, hoping no one else saw that embarrassing episode.  
  
----  
  
The long red spines belonging to Knuckles the Echidna shuddered as the wind blew by, leaving a chill down his neck. He sat down on at the edge of the stadium roof, looking down upon all the action on the grounds. Knuckles had been doing this all day, clinging to the wall using his knuckled fists, climbing up to this spot and watching over everything. Gliding from one side to the other, watching over everyone, studying them. Much like he had done as guardian of Angel Island, he let nothing escape his view.  
  
Knuckles had been watching Sonic looking for him as well. He figured what Sonic wanted, more sparring, but Knuckles had no need for it. He was also a little tired of hearing Sonic's smack talk during their sparring sessions. What it really came down to was that Knuckles felt ready. More ready than he felt last year, when he lost, almost embarrassingly, to Solid Snake in the second round. It was mainly because he had failed to study Snake, but also because no one could ever find him. Knuckles grinned thinking that Snake could play a killer game of hide and seek.  
  
As for this year, another unknown opponent, but he had studied her a little bit. He couldn't recall her name, but she did little training. She spent most of her time hanging around with that blonde haired guy with the funny yellow clothes. He looked down at the grounds again. He could still see Sonic, this time running around a man that Knuckles had met earlier, Tommy Vercetti. Knuckles thought little of him, and smirked a little bit at the embarrassment that Sonic had just dealt him. Knuckles thought that Sonic may have been a little out of control and annoying sometimes, but in the end Sonic always did the right thing.  
  
"I see you are watching him too." A dark, raspy voice from behind Knuckles uttered. Knuckles recognized the voice to be that of Shadow. Shadow walked up next to him, his red eyes staring right at Knuckles. His red and black spines swayed in the wind.  
  
"Shadow... how'd you get up here?" Knuckles inquired, genuinely surprised to see Shadow atop the massive stadium.  
  
"You should know by now Knuckles, the power of my Chaos Control..." Shadow answered, looking back down at Sonic's antics. Knuckles had forgotten about Shadow's mysterious ability to teleport. For the guardian of the Master Emerald, Knuckles surprisingly little about the source of Shadow's power.  
  
Shadow began to speak again, his deep voice giving his words a presence that Knuckles couldn't begin to describe. "Look at him, fooling around down there. He lacks focus... a weakness that will be the downfall of him."  
  
Knuckles just shook his head. "I stopped worrying about Sonic's actions a long time ago. It's best you focus on your own business and quit messing around in Sonic's." Sound words of advice, however strange it was for Knuckles to be offering them to Shadow.  
  
"I plan on using this tournament to prove that I am the ultimate being. To prove that Sonic is nothing compared to me. So, how could I not "mess" in his business, as you put it?" Shadow looked down at Knuckles, who still had his legs dangling over the edge, watching the many participants mingling and training down below. He looked a little distracted as Scorpion continued to chase that monkey in a ball across the field.  
  
"I guess if that's what you want to do, go for it, bub. Odds are unlikely that you and Sonic won't be meeting in the tournament at all, especially if I have anything to say about it." Knuckles stood up and was staring intently at Shadow. Shadow just laughed. "Strong words from a weak being who understands nothing of the powers of chaos," Shadow added, grinning. Knuckles sneered his gloved hands, sporting two large extruding knuckles, began to ball up into fists.  
  
"Weak, am I? Well why don't I just show you how "weak" I am?" Knuckles gloated, but before he could make a move both he and Shadow were suddenly covered in ice from the neck down and could not move. Knuckles turned his head to wear the blast originated from and could see the metallic form of Samus Aran walking towards them, blaster arm raised... the other carrying her helmet.  
  
"Boys, boys, boys. Wasn't last year enough fighting for you two? Honestly, Sonic do you have to-" Samus looked at Shadow. Knuckles figured she had mistaken Shadow for Sonic, which was quite easy to do. "Oh, you're not Sonic."  
  
"A mistake you would do best to not make again. Now, release me from this ice." Shadow demanded, glaring over at Samus. Samus looked over at Knuckles, in disbelief.  
  
"It's only temporary. It should wear off soon." And sure enough, right after she said it, movement returned to both of them. "I suggest, Knuckles that you are your friend here..."  
  
"Shadow, and I'm no friend of his." Shadow interrupted.  
  
"Okay.. Shadow. I suggest you save your confrontations for your tournament opponents. Mr. Vercetti almost got into a brawl with that squirrel with the potty mouth and both were almost suspended from the tournament." Samus told them, wisely.  
  
"If that's the case... then we shall save this for another time, Knuckles." Shadow warned.  
  
"You can count on it." Knuckles responded in kind, continuing to stare down the black hedgehog. Before anything else was said though, Shadow yelled out "CHAOS CONTROL" and in a brilliant flash of light he was gone. "What a jerk that guy is."  
  
Knuckles sat down again and Samus sat down next to him. Knuckles looked over at here. "So, what brings you to my part of the roof?"  
  
"I was actually looking for Sonic. My visor spotted you and Shadow up here, but I mistook him for Sonic. I wanted to wish him good luck, in case we happen to face each other again."  
  
"It was a good match you two had last year. Too bad Sonic didn't bother to study any of his opponents."  
  
Samus looked a little surprised. "He didn't have any knowledge of any of his opponents last year?"  
  
Knuckles just shook his head. "He spent the whole time leading up to the tournament goofing around with Tails. He's taking it a little more seriously this year, however. I think the fact that he got beat by a girl hurt his massive ego. No offense."  
  
Samus thought this was rather funny. "None taken." And then, there was a silence. As both of them continued to stare down at all of the contestants down below. Training, talking, playing... and Knuckles wondered if all the training was worth it? Last year he worked his body to the limit and still could not beat Snake. He wondered if there was something else involved in this competition... something... maybe he was missing? He looked over at Samus. She had done well last year, very well in fact. And Knuckles wondered if she had "it" the missing ingredient... the one thing that had lead those that had it to victory, and those that lacked it to defeat? Without word, without warning, he leapt off the roof and extended his hands, and began to glide above the grounds... off to study more of his opponents. In doing this, he hoped he could find that something about himself that he lacked. But with only days until the tournament... would there be enough time? 


	7. The Last Peaceful Day

This was when the project started to really come into its own. This is the thirtieth day since the beginning, and tomorrow was the first match of the tournament… Link vs. AiAi. 

So, the three members of the team that you didn't see yesterday, first Furious J with a Raiden-based fic, then StopPokingMe with a baseball game, and then BigCow with thoughts from Magus and a meeting between villains Kefka and Sephiroth, weigh in with their own final fics before the tourney began.

A quick note… Some of you may be wondering why a few of your favorite characters haven't shown up yet. But don't worry… They'll show up in time.

Tomorrow… The matches would begin.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

DAY THIRTY

Jack woke up. Slowly he got up and dragged himself over to the bathroom to shave. Half way through this activity, his eye caught the clock in his bedroom. '10:35' said the digital display. Slowly, Raiden returned to shaving... Until something in his mind clicked."10:35!?!?!?!?!?!?" Yelled Raiden suddenly, pulling the razor off his face, nicking himself in the process. He quickly finished shaving, put on his skull suit, and rushed out to the training center.  
  
When he got there he headed immediately to the shooting range. Unfortunately, all 7 slots were filled.  
  


"What's the matter, kid. Get in a fight with a lawnmower?" Said a dry voice from one of the booths.  
  
"Snake! Sorry, I overslept."  
  
"Listen, Raiden, do you think I plan on letting you win this? Do you even think I'm not prepared to use lethal force?"  
  
"I know, but I said I'm sorr-"  
  
"Sorry, isn't good enough, kid." Snake interrupted, "This is a real tournament, if you're not prepared to make the commitment then you should just go home now."  
  
A third voice chimed in, "Leave him alone, Snake." The third voice belonged to the experienced gunman of the NSA, Sam Fisher. "He's just a kid, he doesn't know any better."  
  
"Yeah Fisher, how would you feel about killing a kid in your first match? And not because he wasn't good enough, just because he wasn't prepared."  
  
"If that's the job..."  
  
Raiden stormed off. He'd had enough of being referred to as a kid. Hadn't he done enough, taken down a swarm of Metal Gear Ray's, defeated a clone of Solid Snake in a sword fight. He figured he'd best brush up on his sword moves since the shooting range was a no go. He looked around for someone to practice with, and started to drift over to Dante, but he saw the demon's sword change into a giant sickle and thought better of it. Finally his eyes met the Air Pirate, Vyse. Vyse had his two cutlasses in his usual style, one held regularly, one held by the handle with the blade parallel to his forearm. "Hey Vyse!" Raiden yelled, "You up for some sparring."  
  
"Sure thing," replied Vyse.  
  
Vyse and Raiden could relate to each other. Both of them had to get over the 'kid' barrier. No one respected them because of their age. However, they had both shown that when it came down to it they were both truly capable. Vyse and Raiden were pretty even. Both of them had impressive control over their weapons. Normally Raiden would've had to use at least some gunfire to win, but all this time off of his ship Vyse was getting a little weary. He longed to sail the open skies of his world Arcadia, with his friends Aika and Fina. Suddenly a huge explosion interrupted his longing…  
  
The explosion came from just outside the training center, where a very unfortunate Mr. Vercetti had made the mistake of slapping KOS-MOS's ass. The resulting explosion had taken out the entrance to the training center as well as injuring several hapless bystanders.  
  
Vyse and Raiden rushed over to see. Vercetti was lying unconscious half way through a marble pillar, and KOS-MOS seemed to be moving in for the kill.

  
"Stop!!!" yelled Vyse, "You can't just kill him."  
  
"I have detailed files on proper conduct from males. His behavior did not match these files. Repercussive actions were deemed necessary." replied the machine.  
  
"Did you have to blow up the whole training facility?" commented a bewildered Vyse.  
  
"My files on Thomas Vercetti indicated a substantial level of skill. Any less force than was applied would have resulted in a 18% drop in accuracy."  
  
"For Christ's sake. Some people just can't take a ****ing compliment." Vercetti seemed to have awoke and was now rubbing his throbbing head. "****, this was my best ****ing suit. Genuine ****ing shark skin, and now its ****ing ruined, ****!"  
  
Vyse looked around… He wasn't sure which one was crazier. But being the good Samaritan he helped the downed one, his friend. "Geez, man are you okay?"  
  
Vercetti got up, with some help from Vyse. His gray sharkskin suit now looked more like a black tank top and short shorts. "Hmm... NO!!!!"  
  
"Well, Tommy, I can't say you didn't deserve this. I mean… That's just uncalled for." Scolded Vyse.  
  
A smug grin slid across Vercetti's face. "Well, it was worth it, and I bet she enjoyed it too. Didn't you, sweet chee-"  
  
He was interrupted by the two gatling guns the size of motor cycles that suddenly were pointing at his face. Isaac watched as Tommy backed away, panicked, from the angry KOS-MOS.  
  


"Ah crap."  
  
----  
  
Train, observe, train. Observe, train, observe. It had been a month, and the contestants had all fallen into a daily routine. It was WAY too much like homework.  
  
_These guys need to lighten up!_ Ness had thought. Sure, it was sometimes fun hanging out with Pikachu, Sonic, and a few of the others who weren't stony-faced grownups, but there was no one here he could really relate to. It didn't help that the only one around here anywhere near his age was that mopey wet blanket, Sora. He'd seen the guy smile, what, twice, in a month?  
  
That was about the point that the idea had hit Ness. _We need to do something fun for a change! And I made sure to bring along my home-run bat and a ball..._ He had set out immediately to find players.  
  
After much effort, he had finally found enough players to make up two teams. Unfortunately, he had to explain the rules to almost all of them. _How could so many people have never heard of baseball? It was almost as weird as not believing in aliens._  
  
After some time arguing, Sonic agreed to join Mario's team and the teams were set.  
  
Of course, there were a few problems once they had started the game. Letting Wario be umpire was the first mistake. Before long, it had become obvious he was trying to fix the game. They kicked him off the field and into the small group of onlookers, one of whom was just as displeased. "No more shall you crooked my bet!" yelled CATS. "All your gold coin are belong now to me."  
  
Nobody could quite agree where Kirby's strike zone was, and Bowser and Mario had nearly come to blows over it. Of course, it didn't matter while Mega Man was pitching--eventually they had to rule that shooting the ball out of your gun-arm was not a legal pitch.  
  
Sora had had a bit of trouble grasping the concept of a single, precisely timed swing. He was doing better now, though. He even seemed to be having fun on occasion. Aeris, noticing this, seemed relieved. She had been trying to convince Cloud to join the game since she had found him, studying the contestants as they played. He had refused repeatedly, preferring to study his possible future opponents from afar. When the great ape with the tie had hit what looked to be a sure home run, Cloud's eyes followed the dinosaur, Yoshi, as it jumped dozens of feet into the air, extending its tongue another ten to catch the ball.  
  
Ness stepped up to the plate. _Why are you staring at me, you glowing-eyed dork?_ Tidus was on the mound, and he'd been pitching--er, kicking--a no-hitter. His girlfriend, Yuna, was cheering him on, oblivious to the little squirrel that had snuck in under her skirt and was now gazing upward. Is that what Conker had meant when he said he'd rather "admire the scenery" than play?  
  
"Hey-a batter-a batter-a batter..."  
  
CRACK! _Can't catch that one, can ya, Luigi!_  
  
----  
  
His name was Sephiroth. And he was power incarnated.  
  
He was the son (as he saw himself) of Jenova. In his dimension he had been without question the most powerful being there was. He had set out to unlock the secrets of the ancients, and came close to defeating the power of the entire planet. He had only fallen thanks to a team of fighters assisted by a being who bore a shadow of his power... _Cloud Strife. A useful tool for a while, but he had enough of me to still be a threat. He should have known it was impossible for him to succeed. But he did._  
  
Sephiroth whipped his sword through the air in an arc. The Masamune hummed softly as it sliced cleanly through the air. He had swung his sword to claim many lives with as little effort.  
  
He had been brought back to do what he did best. Fight. He knew no equal in magical powers or the art of the sword-but he had still been bested by an inferior last year. His foe had been an elfish boy armed with a sword... and the triforce of courage. Link overcame his fear in facing him, and won the battle of the mind. The physical battle was merely a formality after that.  
  
He stood alone in the middle of the arena, illuminated only by the light that shone from his eyes. He knew of Link's opponent in his own dimension, Ganondorf, another being with a will to power like his own. The boy's nature was one of simplicity and courage, and apparently in his neck of the woods that overcame superior might.  
  
If Sephiroth had been a little more human, he might have shaken his head and scowled at fate. But that was not his nature. The boy and him weren't the same type of being. They weren't even in the same league. If he fought him again he would win. He could do no otherwise. He was a superior form of life, and he had to win out.  
  
Laughter seemed to surround him. Laughter... laughter was pointless. This laughter was simply mad. A jester in yellow and green... with orange and red stripes around his neck began to make his way towards the center of the arena. He did not walk with the purpose or focus Sephiroth exhibited... he seemed to twitch randomly when he moved. He would start running then stop again, and then hop a few times back and forth before darting forward. He came within a few feet of Sephiroth and let out another insane laugh.  
  
Sephiroth remained impassive, and simply looked at the stranger. His gaze spoke volumes of his experience, power, and will. The president of Shinra had frozen in his tracks; unable to speak when Sephiroth fixed him with glowing eyes. One look and he was able to fill the mind of any rational being with fear.  
  
This one appeared not to be rational enough to be affected. "Loser! Fool... WEAKLING!" The stranger spat on the ground. "You beat all these fools to lose to a little boy! You're worthless! Heh hahah!" He resumed his inane chuckling.  
  
Sephiroth showed no reaction, but the clownish figure continued anyway.  
  
"Still don't realize you can't win, do you! You're just another hack with a sword! Who do you think you are, king of the goths?" He spat on Sephiroth's exposed blade.  
  
Sephiroth merely studied the stranger. He was either a complete idiot or believed himself to be so powerful that he was not intimidated by the taller man who already had his weapon out. Either one would be interesting.  
  
The clown gave him the once over and shook his head. "Idiot! Not me, you! Idiot! I am Kefka! I controlled all the magical forces in the universe! I destroyed an entire world, and remade it in my image!"  
  
"I am Sephiroth. And this would be the Masamune."  
  
Sephiroth jerked his blade forward and put the full force of his body behind it. Kefka flinched as he saw the incoming attack... but grabbed the blade by its tip just before it reached him. He smiled and muttered a few words...  
  
Fire engulfed the Masamune, but Sephiroth held the blade at Kefka's chest. His hand was burning, but the pain reminded him he was alive. "Is that all you can do?" Sephiroth asked.  
  
Kefka let out a shriek and a dark vortex appeared, surrounding them. Soon, he could see nothing but the burning sword and the clown giving him a wicked smile. Sephiroth spoke softly. "You close that vortex and neither of us will get to fight again."  
  
Kefka leaned forward and whispered in Sephiroth's ear. "It doesn't matter if you fight!" He let out an insane chuckle. "You'll fail anyway! You know you won't win. Best to end it all now! Living is pointless. Until you have embraced death, destruction and despair, you cannot fight. Your will is weak! You can not overcome yourself."  
  
Sephiroth's hand felt like it was holding a sun. Nothing the clown said made any sense. Sephiroth drew in a breath and used some of his own magic. The light in his eyes grew until it outshone the flame on his sword. It began to penetrate the dark void around him until pinholes of light could be seen through it. Finally, it broke through the darkness, and the black hole around them vanished like a shadow.  
  
The stranger released the sword and the flames disappeared. Sephiroth looked at Kefka again. He was apparently saying something pointless.  
  
"May you learn to love your defeat." Kefka spat. Sephiroth threw the Masamune at him... but he had already disappeared. Sephiroth retreived his sword and left the Arena. He was done, and the next fight began in only a day.  
  
----  
  
_Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. And eventually drives one mad._ Magus had been watching the encounter between the two beings that had thought they possessed absolute power. _And when two beings of such potential meet, the results can only be humbling for both. _Challenging Lavos had proven impossible for him, despite his near infinite-power... but it was not impossible for the group of heroes he chose as companions. They had gained strength by banding together. The weak, together, had outmatched the strong.  
  
A bolt of lightning crashed down beside Magus, seemingly out of nowhere. It appeared to him that he was different from Sephiroth and Kefka merely in his ends. He would have done anything to destroy Lavos, and seek revenge. His goals merely worked out in a way that enabled him to make use of Crono and his friends. He simply had different goals than the other villains. _That, and I am still sane. Ruling or destroying the world is pointless. It is all pointless... compared to the mastery of time._  
  
Another bolt of lightning split the sky. Then another, then another... they appeared in a circle around him, with increased frequency. Magus sighed, and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Crono, would you cut that out?"  
  
Crono chuckled, and jumped out from behind a bush. "Eh, I was bored, you were brooding, seemed like a good combination."  
  
"Yes. Thank you. Your sense of humor is only surpassed by your verbal skills. Now run along."  
  
Crono chuckled again, and sauntered off. "See you around, good luck in the tournament."  
  
"You too," Magus said out of reflex. Crono might see Kefka in the ring, or maybe even Sephiroth. He had less reason to fight than the others-no pride in his abilities, no enemies to destroy, or grudges to settle. He had nothing to prove, no desire to test the limits of his power against the best fighters from time and space... he merely wished to enjoy himself.  
  
_We'll see how long he lasts with that attitude._ The next fight would be tomorrow, most likely an easy victory for the returning champion. Magus smiled. It was good to be an outsider. He intended to surprise the fighters who had not seen him in battle before…including the champion himself… when it came to be their time to fight.


	8. Link vs AiAi

Now, we've gotten into the heart of the action… For the next sixty-three days, there will be one match every day until the end of the tournament… 64 characters, single elimination, 1 final winner.

But don't think that we'll entirely abandon backstory… For each match, we will have a preshow fic and an aftermath fic, describing events that happened before and after the matches. There will occasionally be even more.

And later on… The real story will pick up. Here's the first match… Link vs. AiAi.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRESHOW 

_The Stadium_  
  
Gradually, people were piling in.   
  
The match was about to begin. 62 characters were still safe today, but two were in the ring this afternoon, battling in out for glory. The winner would last another month; the loser would go home today.  
  
And not too many people were all that unsure as to who would be today's loser.  
  
Zelda, princess of Hyrule, left Link at the doors of the stadium locker room, where the Hylian hero of time was headed to get ready for the contest. As she strode into her reserved front row seat, where all the contestants always sat, she picked up on some snippets of conversation, as they drifted by.  
  
Ganondorf and Bowser were two of the loudest conversers, so Ganondorf's sinister and deep voice and Bowser's reptilian roar were heard loudly by all the onlookers.  
  
"Not looking forward to this match?" Growled the turtle king.  
  
Ganondorf shook his head. His trademark sneer was gone, and replaced with a look of disgust.   
  
"Nah. That kid's gonna win. This monkey's pathetic."  
  
Indeed, that was the general feeling. Many of the characters wondered how AiAi had even gotten into the contest... But he was easy fodder, in any case.  
  
Zelda finally reached her seat, and sat down. Even with everyone being so sure as to who would win, the princess was still nervous... There was always a chance that Link could falter, against the type of competition that every fighter here brought, and she wouldn't be able to rest easy until it was over.  
  
Cloud and Aeris, on the other hand, arrived late for the match, barely getting in. Not seeing Sora present at the stadium, Aeris had gone to look for him, and found him brooding in his room, as usual. It took her a while, but she convinced him to come.  
  
"Alright, alright... But I don't see how it will make me feel any better."  
  
"Hey, you never know until you try. Come on, Sora, we'll be late."  
  
Wordlessly, Cloud led the two back to the stadium, as his two companions quarreled with each other about Sora's attitude as of late.   
  
_I wonder how she's going to be able to face the kid in battle,_ the man from Midgar, Cloud, thought.   
  
_She'll probably just give up... She's far too nice._  
  
Link just sat in his room, trying to relax before the big duel. Even though he had done this six times before, it wasn't any less intimidating, and he needed to tone down his nerves before the battle.   
  
_But,_ he thought, _the monkey's probably got it a lot worse._  
  
And he was right. AiAi was extremely afraid of the fight that was about to take place… When had he ever fought in battle before? He just raced around, on his quest for bananas.  
  
AiAi paced around the room... Or rather, rolled in his bubble. It was an odd sort of pacing, but... He rather had no choice. He rarely came out of the bubble.  
  
Suddenly, AiAi's pacing became too pronounced. He slammed straight into the wall of his locker room, and it took him ten seconds to recover before he could spin around again... And he moved dizzily, at that.  
  
Kaepora Gaebora, the owl advisor to Link, laughed softly, as he spied into the room from a peephole.  
  
"You almost have to feel sorry for the monkey, hoot…"

**THE BATTLE**  
  
The stands were filled. Link glanced around nervously. Everyone would be analyzing his every move, looking for a weakness in his technique, anything exploitable. He had won the title of champion last year… but with a price. He had gained the respect and envy of the other fighters... but there were plenty who would love to see him fall.  
  
His counterpart in the first fight was a monkey. Link almost had to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. _I mean, seriously, they expect me to fight a monkey? I'm a Hylian Knight, not a zookeeper. Last monkey I ran into... well, I just gave him a banana and he built me a bridge._  
  
Link had a great deal of tools and weapons at his disposal, but he had neglected to bring any bananas. _Guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way..._  
  
"COME ON, START! IT'S A FREAKING MONKEY ON A BALL! Just KILL him already!!!" Bowser yelled. No one heard Donkey Kong's protest. The crowd was all too eager to see Link in action.  
  
The simian on a ball began to run forward on it, like he was on a treadmill. It began to inch forward.   
  
Link began to be afraid as the ball began to speed up, and turn around him. The ball began circling around him, faster and faster, and the monkey snarled at him, and with his full force, rammed the ball into Link.  
  
Link was knocked backwards, more by surprise than anything else. Then he began to chuckle loud enough for the monkey to hear him. This was simply ridiculous.  
  
----  
  
A voice blared out over the audience. No one was sure who invited the announcer, it was just assumed that these kind of events needed to have one if the action slowed down.  
  
"What! Could this be! Is the returning champion down for the count! Things are looking bad for our hero Link, and that monkey is itching for more! What a fighter!"  
  
"No wait, he's getting back up, and he seems to be laughing! The blow must have jarred something loose! He's mad... he's... shooting ice arrows at the monkey! The ball appears to be frozen! This is incredible! I've never seen anything like it!"  
  
AiAi tried rolling but his ball was stuck to the ground. He angrily yelped at Link.  
  
"Wait, now he's shooting fire arrows at the ball... the ball appears to have shattered from the pressure! What a stunning upset, I never would have foreseen this!"  
  
AiAi yelped even louder than before, jumping up and down and getting in Link's face.  
  
"Link has taken a light arrow and blinded the monkey! Now he's throwing his boomerang! Whoops he missed... WHAM! Got him on the return shot. Now he appears to be beating the monkey senseless with a deku stick. Ouch, looks like AiAi just got a fire rod in the face! That's gotta hurt! Wow folks, we just witnessed a casting of Din's Fire. That monkey looks like burnt toast. Link has finally pulled out his sword, and looks like he'll finish... OH MY GOD NO! THAT SWORD DOESN'T GO THERE! SOMEBODY STOP THIS MAN! AUUGH! OH THE HUMANITY!"  
  
5 bombs, and a slew of arrows later, the monkey was clearly finished. Link smirked. Even Bowser and Wario were cheering at the carnage.  
  
_Yeah... that was kind of fun. Bring on the others._

**AFTERMATH**

  
The red-cloaked swordsman looked out over his sunglasses and gave a derisive grunt in the direction of the arena. "Hmph. Hardly a worthy champion." Auron turned away.  
  
"What did you want from him?" a calm yet sinister voice muttered from the shadows. "I found the performance impressive… and entertaining." The disfigured vampire, Raziel, preferred to stay out of the harsh sunlight, though it was no longer harmful to him.  
  
"The true measure of a warrior is his capacity for clemency. Any brute fiend can overpower the weak, but there is nothing respectable in the flaunting of that power beyond the point of its utility."  
  
_Fool. Typical human. The weak exist to serve the strong, and if the strong demand death, death is their duty. It isn't a matter of respect, it is a matter of survival. The predator must hunt, as surely as the prey must flee._ "You do strive too hard to glorify your human weakness," retorted Raziel. "What is power if not the ability to kill? Any serious champion would wish to instill fear in the hearts of those seeking to dethrone him—I can attest to that personally." _There are too many humans here. Were there really so many realms that knew no being mightier than a human?_  
  
Raziel had little respect for the majority of the contestants, and shunned them. This Auron was an exception, however. _By all evidence, he is human, but I can see he is spiritually much more powerful than the rest of them. Yet his soul is strained by its effort to maintain some ruse._ Then there was a being not unlike Raziel himself, the one called Alucard. The blood of some great clan flowed in his veins, but it was diluted. _Abomination. I hunger for your soul, cousin._ The only other being worthy of Raziel's attention was the boy with the key. His bond with his weapon was not unlike that Raziel shared with Soul Reaver. They hated him, hated all the power the Soul Reaver bestowed upon him. _If your purpose is my undoing, then mine is yours._  
  
"There is no more honor in taking a life pointlessly than in dying pointlessly," continued Auron. "Not every being that opposes you deserves death, no matter how just your cause. And what is just about seeking victory in this tournament?"  
  
_Justice. Who is one fallible human to judge another's actions unjust?_ "Not every being that opposes me deserves death. Every being who I oppose deserves death. The inconsequential ones, those who merely get in the way, are themselves responsible for their fate."  
  
Auron adjusted his sunglasses. "I won't waste any more of my time with you."  
  
"Then go, human. You are no concern of mine. Though it will be soon, may you die well."  
  
"I did." Auron stalked away.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A note… The announcer is likely a one shot deal. This early, we still were experimenting a bit with what to do.

Anyway… The preshow was written by me, Sir Bormun, the match was written by BigCow, and the aftermath was written by StopPokingMe.


	9. Pikachu vs Fox

We're moving on to the second match of the tourney… Fox vs. Pikachu. The preshow is written by Dan Bonez, the battle is written by BigCow, and the aftermath is written by Furious J.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**PRESHOW**  
  
The stadium was filled to capacity with fans awaiting the upcoming match. Some audience members, especially most of the children, were cheering for their favorite Pokemon, Pikachu. Others, however, were creating some silly rhyme, cheering against the electric creature.

"What the heck is wrong with you?  
Only the stupid cheer Pikachu  
Fox will make him black and blue  
See ya rodent! Don't let the door hit you!"  
  
The majority was just waiting to see what should be an exciting match, not having a preference for either contestant. It was similar among the other participants in the contest, who sat in their own section of the stadium. Many were just there to see the match, having no strong feelings toward either.   
  
Except for one Mr. Resetti, however. His viewpoint was somewhat different, as he reflected on how the hole in the ceiling of the shop he currently stood in came to be. 

"Pikachu will get what he deserves in this match, especially after what he did to this store!"   
  
Magus was waiting, taking quite an interesting in this match. _The winner of this match will be facing the defending champion… It will be interesting to see what they can do. Perhaps I'll fight one of these two after I get past Fisher… _He looked over at Sam Fisher, who was talking with Solid Snake and Raiden, and grinned confidently.   
  
On the stadium grounds, Fox McCloud sat in his room, waiting until the match started. He could hear the roars from the fans, but it didn't make him nervous. He was just looking over his blaster to see if everything was in working order. He'd done it about twenty times. …Okay, so maybe he was slightly nervous, but he was still confident. Judging by what he'd seen of Pikachu, this should be a walk in the park… But Fox wouldn't take the electric mouse lightly. He would not make his confidence a weakness.  
  
Pikachu, on the other hand, was hopping around his room madly. There were black burn marks on the wall from where Pikachu had fired off a little of his electricity. Pikachu was used to fighting alongside of Ash, and taking orders from him in battle. A battle on his own would be quite different indeed… but he would not give up, no matter what situation Fox put him in. 

  
**THE BATTLE**   
  
Beady black eyes met light green eyes surrounded by fur. A yellow rat and a fox stood across a dividing line, sizing each other up. Pikachu had his head cocked to one side, with a mildly serious expression on his face. He seemed satisfied, turned the other way and smiled, yipping "chu! chu!".  
  
Fox found it difficult to evaluate the little Pokemon. One of Fox's greatest strengths was his ability to anticipate and outguess what his opponents would do-his intuitive knowledge of combat, and instincts for danger had turned the fate of a whole galaxy around. But against a rat that barely measured up to his knee, he wasn't sure what to do. The creature was an animal, unpredictable... and his abilities with electrical power were not to be taken lightly.  
  
Fox rested on hand on his holster. He couldn't afford to mess up again... he wouldn't take another first round loss.  
  
A gong sounded. "FIGHT!!!" a voice from the crowd yelled out. Fox guessed it was time to begin.  
  
Pikachu growled at Fox, and then zipped up into the air past his head. Fox turned his head to one side quickly, and felt Pikachu's tail strike the side of his helmet. Fox turned around and drew his blaster at the same time. He fired off a quick burst of energy at Pikachu... but his opponent was too fast, the rodent jumped to the side almost faster than Fox could see.  
  
_It's like he's teleporting. This is insane._ Fox laid down a stream of fire in front of him, hoping to lead Pikachu into one of his shots. Pikachu jumped up into the air over the blasts and looked Fox in the eye with a determined stare.  
  
"Piiiikkaaaachuuuu!!!!"  
  
Fox rolled to one side before he could even see the lightning bolt. He'd seen Pikachu in practice, he knew what that meant. Pikachu pointed an angry finger at him, and Fox jerked himself in the opposite direction just in time to be missed by an electrical shock. He had to figure out something fast. _At least he's not dodging at the moment..._  
  
Fox faked a jump to one side, but swung his gun forward and fired straight at the rat. Pikachu quick dodged out of the way, but one of the shots got him in the tail. He stood to Fox's right, rubbing his tail.  
  
_I have to end this._ Fox realized. _The little guy has more energy than me, and he'll just wear me down._  
  
In a somewhat undignified move, Fox jumped forward and tried to land on Pikachu. Pikachu flinched and tried to move away but Fox grabbed him by the tail. The two animals kicked and clawed at each other, with Pikachu getting the worse end of the bargain. Finally Pikachu had had enough.  
  
"PiiiiikkaaaCHUUUUU!"  
  
A thunderbolt came out of nowhere and hit pikachu in the chest... but he simply channelled the energy and poured it into Fox. Fox was thrown backwards by the electrical force. He looked around dazed.  
  
_Great, now all my hair is standing on end. And for me... that's no joke._ Fox managed to locate Pikachu, who seemed unaffected by his blast. The rat gave off sparks around him, and static electricity seemed to be coursing through his veins. Pikachu began to run forward.  
  
Fox desperately reached for his gun and tried to fire. "Come on, work!" It was overloaded from the last attack. "Reset, Reset..." Fox pleaded. The gun started warming up in his hand. Pikachu was running even faster and began diving into the air, but now, Fox was ready… He held down the trigger and fired blast after blast into the rat. Pikachu began to swerve to one side but Fox followed his path through the air with his gun. Pikachu landed on his feet.   
  
Fox looked at him expectantly, believing his time was up. Pikachu looked at him with a smile, and nodded. "Pikaaaa!"  
  
The little rat's eyes turned to x's, and he flopped on his side. Fox stared in disbelief. The crowd began clapping lightly. He could see Samus Aran give him a thumbs up. Fox walked over and kicked the little rat lightly, but with no effect. _It's like he just fainted or something..._  
  
Fox shrugged. He was in no position to complain. The fight had gone on more than long enough for him. Fox made his way off the field, and joined his friends in the stands, Samus looked like she wanted to talk to him. _That was lot of work for such a little guy. Well, next round I fight Link... eh, at least he's human._

  
**AFTERMATH**  
  
"That's it," chortled Link from the sidelines. "That's all the great Fox McCloud can do? Really, I would've liked to at least try to defend my title."  
  
"You will beat him with just as little effort," sneered Tingle gleefully.  
  
"Careful, Master Link. Fox McCloud is no push over, that Pikachu was quite powerful. Fox may not be as easy as you think," said a wise voice belonging to the owl Kaepora Gaebora.  
  
"Ha, ha, courageous as always, eh Link," said a dark voice.  
  
"Ganondorf," Princess Zelda said. "What business do you have here."  
  
"I just wanted to express my congratulations... on a helpless animal well slaughtered."  
  
Zelda leaped up. "He was not helpless, he knew what he was getting into before he signed up."  
  
"So? The pilot didn't kill that **_adorable_** little mouse; Link could have just as easily incapacitated the monkey. But don't get me wrong, given the situation I would have done the same myself." He began to life and then in a high whiny tone he snickered, "Oh… You remind me of myself at your age." Ganondorf walked off laughing.  
  
The wise owl, who had remained quiet the entire time Ganondorf was there, turned to Link and said, "He's right you know. At times during this tournament, you have reminded me of the evil Ganondorf."  
  
"Silence!!!!" yelled Link, "I am not Ganondorf."  
  
"I'm sorry Link, I just...." Kaepora was interrupted as Link rose from his chair and exited the arena. "I just think becoming champion has changed you."  
  
"Well, keep it to yourself then." Link retorted.  
  
Tingle, Zelda, and Kaepora exchanged looks and then followed after the champion.


	10. Tidus vs Ganondorf

This is Tidus vs. Ganondorf… Probably the first of our battles that really began to raise the bar.

BigCow, as he did in the first two, wrote the match. StopPokingMe wrote the prefic, and guest author Jjukil wrote the aftermath.

Jjukil was an occasional writer for us… An honorary member of the team. He certainly wrote well enough to be a permanent fanfic writer, but Jjukil primarily works on inspiration… So BigCow and I tended to get fics in our inboxes from him from time to time, based on what he was feeling as he read the matches. And his fics never disappointed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Preshow**  
  
Tidus was getting impatient. He had waited a month since he was here, awaiting his first chance to prove himself. _At least Yuna was here with me this time. Last year the delays nearly drove me nuts! I hate waiting._ Now his match was only a few minutes away, and they seemed like days to him.  
  
He idly kicked his blitzball against the wall as he fenced with an imaginary opponent. _This geezer I'm up against hasn't shown me much to be afraid of, but oh, will it ever be fun to take him out!_ Tidus could still hear the warlock's sneering insults ringing in his head. "You'll never measure up to me! Just surrender, crybaby, I'll make it quick and painless." His blood had boiled at that; it could have been his father he was facing again.  
  
_I don't give a damn what he sounds like! In a huge arena, with thousands of screaming fans...this is my turf! He'll get the rookie's jitters, and I'm way too fast for him anyway!_ Just this one victory, Tidus knew, would win him another month with Yuna. He could still feel the kiss she'd given him before he entered the waiting area. _I think that might just have to become part of my pre-game ritual. Come on! What's the hold up?!_  
  
On the other side of the arena, Ganondorf was much more patient. His eyes burned with evil intent. _This boy was too easy to unnerve. A pity his death will prove such little sport._ He had scarcely tapped the power at his command over the past month, planning to use the element of surprise to defeat all that stood between him and Link. _And with him out of the way, all Hyrule and her triforces will be mine for the taking. But first, this yammering wimp must be dealt with._ His laughter rang in the small room.

  
  
**The Battle**  
  
If the dark magician had been capable of pity, he would have felt sorry for the young warrior who was about to taste his magic. He knew swordfighters like the one who stood in front of him, standing so straight and confident. He had killed more than his share of ordinary fighters. Only the boy who bore the master sword and a third of the triforce was to be taken seriously by him in this tournament.  
  
Even more importantly, his opponent knew nothing about him. The boy's emotions were all on the surface-anger at Ganondorf's taunts, a desire to stay with Yuna, and a bravery which blindsided him to the reality of the battle he was about to face. He would be easy to manipulate. Ganondorf, just for comparison, only bore his opponent a perpetual sneer. He was clad in dark armor from head to toe, with jewels embedded on his shoulders, palms, and where his heart would be. The armor, like so much else, was mostly to intimidate his foes. He had no real need of it.  
  
The match began. Ganondorf made no move. He raised one arm in a beckoning motion. "Let's see what you're capable of, boy."  
  
If Tidus had seen Link shake his head up in the stands, he might have been more cautious. Instead the boy leaped into the air like an acrobat, but propelled by his own force. He swung his sword in a downward diagonal arc, preparing to either slice Ganondorf in the neck or force him backwards. Ganondorf watched his attack with detachment and raised a single hand. Dark energy began to pour out of it. Tidus's blow hit Ganondorf's arm square on... then he was thrown back by the dark shock. Tidus stared at him in disbelief and confusion.  
  
_He still doesn't comprehend the inevitability of his fate. How amusing._ Ganondorf began to laugh at him, and raised his arm, still flowing with black energy. He pointed it at Tidus, and a dark beam began to flow out. Tidus dodged to one side, and began to run back towards Ganondorf. Ganondorf frowned, and used his other hand to fire blast after blast in Tidus's direction.   
  
Ganondorf merely watched at Tidus juked, dodged, and slipped between his shots. _He's even faster than Link was._ Ganondorf frowned, and raised his hands in front of him in a protective shield of energy. Tidus leaped into the air again, and Ganondorf brought his hands up... but Tidus landed behind him, and quickly jerked his sword backwards, stabbing Ganondorf in the thigh.  
  
"Why you little..." Ganondorf began to pulse with energy.

  
  
Tidus smiled. The wizard was obviously more powerful than he let on, but he knew that he was still mortal, and Tidus still had a shot against him. Apparently, Ganondorf also had a shot about ready to be fired at him, but Tidus stared him down. A dark sphere of energy traveled the few feet between them but Tidus deflected it with his sword and threw it up into the air.  
  
_Time to show him what I've got._  
  
Tidus whipped around in a circle and hit Ganondorf with a spiral cut, then jumped backwards just as the wizard tried to grab him. He threw his sword up and blocked the wave of energy he knew was coming in retaliation, and dived forward again for another strike. The wizard's armor was strong, but he couldn't hold out forever.   
  
He could tell the magician was getting angry... but suddenly he stopped shaking, and laughed.   
  
"Very well boy, let's try this again." He gestured with one hand, beckoning. Tidus didn't want to give him a chance to think this time, and leaped forward, plunging his sword straight into the wizard's heart. The blade met with no resistance. Tidus blinked. Could it have been that easy?  
  
A dark fireball hit him from both sides. Tidus was barely able to stand. Tidus saw the wizard laughing to his right... and to his left. And now behind him, where he had originally stood. All three wizards raised their hands and shot out another blow of energy. Tidus charged at the wizard to his right... but again was met only with an illusion. He desperately tried to back up to avoid the incoming blasts, but was hit by all three. He doubled over in pain. All three wizards disappeared and reappeared in a triangle in front of him.   
  
They raised their hands and fired their shots. Tidus held his sword in front of him, and managed to reflect every beam back at the attacker. The one farthest away was thrown back a few feet, and began to fade out of existence.  
  
_Oh no you don't._ Tidus ran with every ounce of energy he had left.  
  
"Blitz ACE!" He yelled.

  
  
Ganondorf was still feeling the blow of the last attack, and was desperately trying to dissolve before the boy could reach him. He failed. He felt the boy's blade, not as worthy a sword as the Master Sword, but powerful none the less... it slashed through him eight times from every conceivable angle. He decided to fade back into existence only to be struck by some projectile he couldn't detect, or imagine where it had come from.  
  
But the boy was right in front of him and Ganondorf seized his change. If he wanted to make this a close range fight, he could do that.   
  
He seized the boy with his powerful arms and let dark magic flow through him. "A worthy effort," he whispered, "but futile. I have destroyed more of your kind than you can imagine." Tidus held back a scream as he felt his body be overrun by the dark forces. Ganondorf let the magic throw Tidus up in the air, and dealt him a powerful blow with one fist. Tidus soared and then slid halfway across the arena.   
  
Ganondorf flew up into the air and hovered over Tidus, firing dark blasts into his helpless body, watching him twitch. Amazingly, Tidus managed to roll out of the way and throw his sword upwards-but Ganondorf sustained the blow and continued his barrage. Finally, the boy's body went limp.  
  
"That's enough!" Yuna yelled. "You've already won, what more do you want... you monster!"   
  
Ganondorf sneered, and turned his back on Tidus, only to be forced to hide the pain he felt. That boy had come closer than he realized, Ganondorf's entire body was still feeling the effects of the boy's sword. _Best not to be so careless in the future._  
  
Yuna climbed down the stands and rushed over to Tidus.   
  
"I'm sorry..."   
  
"No, you're alive. That's all that matters now."

**Aftermath**  
  
She had seen this outcome coming. She had summoned Aeons--powerful creatures from other planes entirely--hundreds of times; no one could do that without gaining some sense of recognition for spiritual power. She had been able to tell that Ganondorf had that power in spades--and that he was far stronger than Tidus, at least where magic was concerned. But Yuna hadn't been able to tell that to Tidus. She couldn't even tell it to herself and really believe it.  
  
But in the end, the only thing that truly surprised her was that Ganondorf had stopped short of killing him.  
  
Then something even less expected happened.  
  
Tidus began to fade away.  
  
The audience's cheers for Ganondorf started to die down, giving way to murmurs of confusion. Even when AiAi had been slaughtered, he (well, what was left of him) had been taken to the medical ward, then sent back to his homelands from there. Tidus's disappearing seemed familiar to some, but it was still very strange. Even Ganondorf had stopped celebrating, and was now scratching his head with the rest of the crowd.  
  
"...Tidus? What's going on??" Yuna started, eyes widening in shock. He tried to reach up to her, but fell back grunting in pain. She had been cradling his head in her hand...but when it fell to the ground, it passed right through her. "No," she whispered.  
  
"I guess...it was just my time," he muttered weakly. He did his best to give her one more smile before he vanished completely.  
  
For several seconds, she couldn't move. After what she had just seen, she couldn't even think. Then it occurred to her to check the medical ward, to see if they could tell her what had happened. Quickly, she started to get up.  
  
"Huh. Well. That was quicker than I thought it'd be," said a snide voice to her side.  
  
She froze again.  
  
"You don't really care at all...do you," she accused Tidus's butcher, still not looking at him.  
  
Ganondorf blinked. "...'care'? About what?"  
  
"I will kill you right here," Yuna growled, whirling on the man with guns in hands.  
  
The crowd gasped, and the dark wizard's eyes widened...for an instant. "What, with those? Please." Before she could realize it, he had flung a ball of deep purple flame at each of her weapons. They weren't anywhere near full-strength--not after that battle--but they were enough to incinerate the surprised summoner's new, makeshift pistols. She dropped them to the ground in disgust.  
  
"I'm sorry...Yuna, was it?" Ganondorf continued with a sneer. "But if you want to avenge your poor little superstar, you're going to have to wait until the final round. You see, fighting outside of the matches is strictly prohibited! And I was never one to break the rules...." He grinned.  
  
Yuna scowled, her hands forming into fists in spite of herself. She wanted nothing more than to tear the man apart...except to see if Tidus was really gone. And if she fought Ganondorf now, she'd likely never find that out. Her common sense back with her, she took off for the medical ward in a sprint.  
  
"And even if you DO manage to reach the final match--what makes you think you can defeat me?" he called after her. "OR Link, the ONLY one of these underpowered idiots that could possibly bring me down??"  
  
But Yuna had stopped listening long ago, putting her hatred for the warlock aside.  
  
The crowd wasn't too happy with him, though.  
  
"Oh, who cares what you think," he shouted back as they booed him off the field.  


  
  
Another dark wizard stood outside the door of the medical ward half an hour after the battle. He got several strange stares from passerby...which could only be expected, since he hadn't had his match yet. None of them asked him any questions, though. His narrowed eyes seemed to be answer enough.  
  
About ten minutes after he arrived, Yuna came out of the ward slowly. The wizard didn't react at all, but he could see fresh tear-stains on her cheeks with his peripheral vision alone. She started to walk away, then jumped when she saw him. "Magus," she said in surprise.  
  
"So he's gone after all," he said, rather than asked.  
  
She nodded and looked down. "They couldn't really explain it, but they were sure. Something about how he was already dead...speeding up the process of his return. They said they'd look into it more...but...." She shook her head. "Why do you ask?" she said, instead of finishing the sentence.  
  
"I was curious about the sciences and magics managing this tournament," he explained, still not moving a muscle. "I'd hoped to learn something about how their systems operated. Apparently they run on incompetence."  
  
"Oh," Yuna said, looking back down. She sniffed. "Well...I'm sorry I couldn't help you." She turned to walk off once more.  
  
"I lost someone myself, once."  
  
She stopped and looked back at him, her eyes wide.  
  
"Twice, actually," Magus continued, with something approaching sadness in his voice. "...I'm sorry." Yuna couldn't quite give him a response.  
  
Seeing she was uncomfortable, Magus turned away quickly. "Don't worry about Ganondorf," he said as he hurried off. "I'll take care of him for you." _And for myself,_ he added mentally, a scowl forming on his face.  
  
Yuna was still staring in his direction long after he had gone.

---------------------------

Janus Zeal's battle is up tomorrow… We certainly used him a lot in prep fics. Let's see what he's like in the arena.


	11. Sam Fisher vs Magus

Today, one of the most popular characters among our writing team, Magus of Chrono Trigger, has his first match, against Splinter Cell star Sam Fisher. Seadragon76 wrote the prologue, BigCow wrote the match, and Furious J wrote the aftermath.

**Preshow**  
  
_Sam Fisher's locker room, 2 hours before the battle_  
  
Sam Fisher, the Splinter Cell, was in his locker room, preparing for the match. He calmly cleaned the muzzle of the AK-47 rifle he had brought with him to this tourney. _Yeah, it's nice to have all of this high-tech gadgetry and all_, thought Sam, _But, will this be enough to survive the tourney, let alone survive against someone like the wizard?_  
  
Just then, Sam heard a knock on his door. It was Max Payne, a fellow law enforcement worker... Max and Sam had bonded over their past similar experiences over the month of preparation for this tourney, and Max had come to wish Sam well in the fight. "Max, my friend. Nice of you to come by." said Sam. "Same here, Fisher. Are you ready for Magus?" "I guess so, Max. I happen to have my AK-47, some Night vision goggles, and this pistol. Hopefully, it'll be enough to take down Magus… That wizard has power in him."

Sam Fisher paused and looked at Max for a moment. Max seemed fairly relaxed as he stood before his fellow gunman… He hadn't been training quite as much as Sam over the past month.

"Max, have you been preparing for your fight?"  
  
"Somewhat," replied Max Payne, "I just happen to have THE secret weapon against Gordon Freeman." He grabbed a poster that he brought with him, grinning, and held it up for Sam's scrutiny. It was a nearly nude poster of Tina Armstrong, one of last year's contestants. "Right, Max." snickered Sam, "What do you think a nudie poster can do against Gordon?" 

"Well, it's to cause a distraction, Fisher. Gordon lost to her last year, and I found a poster of her, so if I use it, I'm going to win easily. He'll love being reminded of that." 

Max and Sam shook hands, and went their separate ways. Perhaps it would be the last time they would speak to each other in this tourney…?  
  
_Magus' Locker Room_  
  
The wizard Magus hadn't been training all that much for his match. It wasn't that Magus was supremely confident… Sure, he believed that he would win the match. But the type of skills he used were hardly those that could be improved by training… He'd spent more time observing the area around him.

And instead of last second scampering to make sure everything was all right… Magus just calmly ran his scythe across the floor, in thought.

He was ready for Sam Fisher. He had waited a long time for this tournament, after the intriguing display that he saw Crono put on last year, and though he was aloof and uncaring about most things… Magus genuinely wanted to do well in this tourney. It was his challenge to himself.

It would certainly be challenging… If he got past Sam Fisher, which, with his magics, he was confident that he would do, Magus would likely have to then face the two opposite ends of the spectrum from the land of Hyrule… An evil warlock, power-hungry, cruel, and the benevolent Link, courageous… and confident. But Link wasn't who was on his mind at the moment… The warlock, the pitiless man who had laughed as he separated Tidus and Yuna, the couple in love, was. He was not someone Magus could identify with or hold any respect for… And after Sam Fisher, he would be the wizard's next opponent.

_That match yesterday… So much like when I lost Schala…_

**The Battle**  
  
Unlike most of the contestants, Sam Fisher suffered from no delusions of grandeur.  
  
He knew he was mortal. He knew that in the face of ridiculous odds, he had been best served by exploiting every cheap advantage there was. Surprise. Stealth. And simply avoiding conflict when necessary.  
  
He was a Splinter Cell. A lone agent trained to infiltrate, and operate below enemy radar. The NSA had grown to appreciate the abilities of what one man was able to as long as his presence was sufficiently masked. He was the best in his field at combat operations, but he wasn't Rambo. He had survived by outsmarting his enemies.  
  
His opponent was an enigma to him however. A magician wielding a scythe... but he didn't expect him to start cutting corn or pulling rabbits out of his hat. His foe's name was Magus, and he seemed more than confident in his ability to take out Sam.  
  
Sam needed an edge. So, he had offered a challenge to the overconfident wizard as they were about to take their places on the battlefield that morning.  
  
"You know you'll win."  
  
Magus had looked at him in surprise. "Yes I will. Nice of you to admit it."  
  
Sam had shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Yeah, you know we'll win if we fight now." He had really been hazarding a guess; he had little opportunity to see what the wizard could do. "I'd rather fight you on my turf. The night. I prefer to operate in the darkness myself."  
  
Magus had merely grinned at him. "I am a creature of shadow as well. You can have the fight your way, on your terms. I'll see you tonight." Magus turned around and left the arena.  
  
The audience had been enraged-Crono in particular couldn't believe that Magus had let the crowd down.  
  
But the time had passed eventually, and the crowd was gathered again.  
  
"They expect us to watch this fight in the dark?" Ganondorf had grumbled. "I was really hoping to see what my next victim could do. Even if it soon will be irrelevant."  
  
Crono was nearby, but he didn't say a word, as usual. He knew what Magus was capable of-and the operative Sam Fisher looked impressive as well. _I just hope I don't have to fight Magus in there._  
  
Sam himself wasn't worried about the darkness. He felt at home. If the crowd had a hard time seeing him, than Magus wouldn't likely be much better off. And he had his own equipment to assist him. He switched on his night vision, and saw a green shape, with a fuzzy curved object he knew represented a scythe.  
  
"Are you finally ready?" Magus asked. "I could come back. If you prefer rainfall, hailstorms, or thunder and lightning for your ambience, I'm sure we could convince them to wait around."  
  
Sam shook his head. Then he realized the wizard probably couldn't detect the motion. He smirked and spoke up. "Let's go."  
  
----  
  
Magus nodded and raised his scythe. He didn't think the battle would be very interesting if he simply blasted the man right where he stood, so Magus decided to make it a physical battle. He dashed forward, his cape spreading in the cool night air. Keeping the man fix in his sights, he swung his blade in a horizontal cut.  
  
Naturally, he missed. He would have been disappointed if it had been otherwise. He felt the air, trying to detect the man's presence. He possessed so little magical or spiritual energy that it was a challenge. Apparently he had sidestepped out of the way...  
  
Magus saw a tiny flash of light as a little ping sounded, and felt a bullet tear through his cape. Almost without realizing it, he had instinctively used his magic to lift him in the air temporarily to try to avoid the shot.  
  
He quickly ran away from the spot where he stood, but heard a rapid succession of shots following him. A few of them managed to hit him in his left arm. Magus gritted his teeth, and charged with his scythe whipping through the air to where he last saw the light. He ran into nothing, and another shot had nearly hit him in the head.  
  
_This is impossible, no one's instincts are that good. What is he... some kind of animal?_ Magus continued running around the arena, dodging and anticipating the fire as it whizzed through the air. He reached out with his mind... and realized his mistake.  
  
_He can see me. He has some kind of device to amplify light. How sad... Melchior or any of the sages would have realized Sam's trick right away. _Magus angrily shook his head. He had had enough.  
  
Magus raised one hand in the air and let off a lightning spell. A swirling spiral of light filled the arena, and the crowd gasped in awe. Sam Fisher stood just a few feet away from him under a headset, although the light must be blinding him. Magus directed the spiral towards Sam and watched the electrical force pour through his body.  
  
----  
  
Sam's equipment survived the shock, but he was a little worse for the wear. All his muscles wanted to twitch, but he controlled himself. The wizard was powerful, all right sure. And that lightning blast had blinded him to the point where he couldn't see well enough to get out of the way.  
  
He quickly put on his infared headset and pulled out his Splinter Cell automatic. He fired round after round into the direction of the magician, running sideways to avoid another blast like the last one. He saw his shots clearly hit the magician, and even traces of blood, but his opponent kept standing. _That's one tough S.O.B._  
  
Magus threw his hands up and huge chunks of ice appeared around him. Sam stopped firing-it would take more than his automatic to penetrate those, and the wizard was clearly up to something.   
  
The ice split up and flew at him through the air. Sam held back his disbelief and held down his trigger. He shot several pieces of ice out of the air, and the others he dodged to watch them crash down onto the ground. Sam reopened fire, but the wizard quickly repeated his previous spell and ice again surrounded him.  
  
This time however, a circle of fire formed inside the ice and began to flow outwards, turning the ice into water. Sam's infared headset was overloaded by the heat of the spell, and cried out as he felt the wave of flame pass through him.  
  
----  
  
Magus ran in the direction of the cry, but caught another bullet. He winced, and set up a magic wall. He could be guarded from physical attacks, but he would be unable to attack physically. Sam continued firing even as his shots were slowed down and absorbed by Magus's spell.  
  
Magus cast a dark bomb at Sam, and watched the black energy take its toll on the human. Sam was struggling to keep going. He was a worthy opponent, but he was out of his league, and his field. Magus looked at Sam with something akin to compassion.   
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Sam looked back at him, sweating. "Why?"  
  
"Because a fighter such as yourself deserves better."  
  
_Best to end it now..._ Magus threw another dark bomb at the fighter, attempting to focus the energies on Sam's head and knock the agent unconscious. He chose not to cast anything that might kill his foe... Sam had proven enough of a challenge to deserve that much. Besides, Crono always complained when he did something like that.  
  
Sam slumped forward and landed on the ground. Magus walked over to his defeated foe, making sure he was all right. The crowd began clapping and yelling, but Magus ignored them.  
  
Magus leaned over Sam. "You alive?"  
  
Sam gasped, but nodded. "Thanks" was all he managed to get out.  
  
Magus nodded back. "Thank you. May your skills serve you better in the future."  
  
Crono was cheering up in the stands, bragging to his fellow warriors that he actually knew that guy. Ganondorf was staring at him with a surprised expression. Magus burned inwardly as he thought about what the self-titled king of evil had done to the boy, Tidus. _You'll be next, wizard... and I won't hold back._

**Aftermath**  
  
The crowd was in an uproar. Cheers of "Magus the Merciful!!!!" rung through the stadium. However, in the ever dwindling area closed off for the contestants, there was silence.  
  
"Hmph...." muttered a pleasantly surprised Crono to no one in particular, "I thought he'd kill him…"  
  
"I wish he'd killed him. That was boring. I couldn't see anything and then it was over." Bowser grunted, as he moved for the exit. All the contestants were talking as they returned to the hotel for rest for the next day. One person stayed, Ganondorf.  
  
"Amazing..." he whispered to himself. "So much power...all under his control." He had seen magicians before, but never a dark magician. Could it be that this, 'Magus' possessed power that rivaled the Triforce? He had sensed an animal essence a primal power in him, one that reminded him of well, himself. "No matter," Ganondorf said aloud, "Only one who wields the Master Sword can slay me." He returned to the hotel, and slept. There was plenty of time to prepare for this new challenger.  
  
----  
  
Snake exited the arena, a little disappointed. He had anticipated this, but something about actually seeing it had made it more real. Fisher's strategy was sound, his marksmanship perfect, his weaponry top-of-the-line. Yet that had not been enough. Could it be that magic was more effective than guns? 

"…He just wasn't used to dealing with magic," Snake told himself. "He's just had to deal with inept guards the whole time, I take on the real freaks."  
  
"Keep telling yourself that," a dry voice said. "Maybe it'll become true."  
  
"Dante, didn't I tell you to stop bothering me?" Snake shot back at him.  
  
"Oh, I see you're in a bit of a fit from seeing another secret agent get whooped."  
  
Snake didn't respond.  
  
"I don't blame you, I'd be pretty upset if I were you, knowing that I had no chance in this contest."  
  
"Listen, are you gonna get to the point? I have a match in a few weeks, and I've gotta go train."  
  
Dante pulled out his two guns, Ebony and Ivory, and began spinning them around. "All I'm saying is that guns are all well and good, but...." Suddenly his body was engulfed in black skin and purple lightning. "If you don't have the magic to back it up, you're as good as dead." He turned around and began pumping purple lighting bolts into a spectators car, which exploded almost instantly.  
  
"I got better things to do than watch you destroy public property, kid."  
  
"Hahahaha...," chuckled Dante, "See you in Round 3."


	12. Squall vs Jill

This is the fifth match of round 1, between famed Final Fantasy VIII introvert Squall Leonhart and S.T.A.R.S. member Jill Valentine. Furious J wrote the prep, Sir Bormun wrote the match, and StopPokingMe wrote the aftermath.

**------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Preshow**  
  
Squall lied on the bench in his locker room. A lot was going through his mind, when his world had been destroyed and he ended up in Traverse Town, he had been quick to start a new life, with new friends, and a new name. He thought about his friends from the Garden; Zell, Irvine, Quistis, Selphie, Rinoa... Those that had been returned to him not long after the young boy, Sora, had defeated the Heartless. And now he'd left them again… For this little tourney, this chance to show his merit. Was it worth it, in the end?

"Still brooding to yourself, Squall?" a cheerful Aeris said. "You missed a spectacular battle at the arena."  
  
"It's not my fault they waited until right before this to start. I had to get ready for my match. Who won, anyway?"  
  
"Oh, the wizard… Magus I think his name was. You should have come by to watch him! You might have to fight him you know..."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Squall, what were you thinking about?"  
  
"None of your business."  
  
"Come on Squall, I'm your friend."  
  
"I've heard that one before."  
  
"Ugggh!!! You're impossible." Aeris said as she stormed out.   
  
But the more Squall thought about it the more he realized he did need help. In every situation where he had tried to go it alone, he had failed. He would need the help of his friends… Just like he always had.

"They're not my friends!" Squall yelled to no one, "My friends are gone… I'm here by myself! Just like I always used to be!"  
  
----  
  
Jill, on the other hand, was quite calm. She simply checked over all her weapons, went through her plans for the match, made sure her tube top was on tight… She didn't want to relive that embarrassing moment. After all that time in Racoon City, fighting off hordes of undead zombies, it would be nice to have a good duel. Although, there had been some pretty nasty duels already… That monkey had gotten totaled, and it had looked like that Magus one had had to try to spare that NSA Agent.   
  
"I know how you must be feeling," a deep masculine voice, belonging to Duke Nukem said.  
  
"WHAT!?!? HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE!!!" screamed Jill.  
  
"All these sinister villains, so much danger," Duke continued.  
  
"This is the women's locker room, idiot!!!"   
  
"What's important to remember, is the good things, like love."  
  
"Oh...My...God...did you see me naked????????"  
  
"I just wanted to let you know, that I understand you and I'm here for you."  
  
"If you don't get out of here in 5 seconds... I-I can't be held responsible for what I'm gonna do to you."  
  
"So, if you're ever feeling scared or lonely, you know where to find me." There was a loud click that sounded remarkably similar to the loading of an AK-47. "But, I have to go now, stay safe." Duke Nukem said as he walked out of the locker room.  
  
"I swear to god, he'll pay for this!" Jill said through clenched teeth. Suddenly, as she seethed at the intrusion of the tactless Duke, her attention was drawn to the clock. "Oh great… It's already time for my match."

**The Battle**  
  
The way Jill Valentine saw it; it was just one more battle against a zombie.  
  
In her work with S.T.A.R.S., she had faced much more powerful foes than Squall Leonhart, and had defeated them all. Some of the zombies had even had more of a personality than the stoic, wordless, SeeD.  
  
So she wasn't worried when she took out her pistol from its holster, and examined it, ready to fire a round of it at Squall when the gong sounded. But she should have been, because Squall had a weapon that set him apart from all the zombies. Zombies were simply mindless, practically dead, drones… They couldn't coordinate a plan to take out an esteemed opponent… All they could do his lurch around, and lunge at whatever humans were near… And then usually got taken out in short order when they found that human they were accosting had a gun.

But despite Squall's temperament… He was no zombie. He had been trained to plan out every fight he started before it happened, and today, everything was in order. He had obviously been heeding his training today, because inside Squall's mind, a final conversation was taking place. 

_Lionheart._   
  
The words, and the following conversation, were not spoken aloud. However, Squall did not need to hear them... The telepathic link that developed between a Guardian Force and anyone who junctions it is enough that the spoken word is not necessary.  
  
Squall had tried very hard over the course of the competition to keep this weapon of his secret. He knew that having something that others wouldn't anticipate would be his key to getting past at least his first opponent, and maybe even more... He didn't want to lose again so early, like he had last year.  
  
Squall was fiercely competitive. He never wanted to lose to anyone... It was just in his nature. So he was determined to keep a leg up on anyone... And keeping his hidden weapon, his Guardian Force Bahamut, was what he felt would get him the win. After all, who would expect a giant dragon to come swooping out of the sky at the last minute, and flare them all over with its magic? It certainly wasn't something many would expect from the very cut-and-dry personality Squall appeared to have.  
  
So he was smirking when he faced Jill Valentine... Even when Jill drew her pistol, and smiled at him. She'd never been all that bad at one liners, and this seemed like the perfect place for one.  
  
"Sorry, Squall...You're a good guy. But you're going to lose just like last time."  
  
A spilt second after the gong sounded, signaling the beginning of the match, Jill fired one bullet, straight at Squall's head. The gunblade specialist ducked, with his reflexes perfectly honed from large amounts of training over this month. Another bullet from Jill's gun missed Squall's foot when Squall jumped up, and a roll to the side caused the remainder of Jill's round to miss.  
  
The smile was gone from Jill's face now. She had fired a full round at the gunblade specialist... And they had all missed. How had he done this? Was he psychic or something?  
  
With that guess, Jill wasn't too far off. The guardian force in Squall's head had been enabling Squall with abilities of anticipation far beyond what a normal human had... It was just another perk of the GF system.  
  
Squall decided that he was done defending. Picking up his gunblade with his right hand, holding it low, the SeeD lunged at the mildly shocked Jill Valentine.   
  
Jill barely had time to dodge. She was about reload her pistol for another go at Squall, and was very caught off guard by Squall's lunge.  
  
_How did he know I was out of bullets?_ She thought. Jill was starting to worry. This wasn't as easy as she had thought.  
  
Squall wasn't just another zombie.  
  
Squall landed on his feet, even though he had missed his target. But once again, he was in trouble. Jill finished reloading her pistol, and was triumphantly pointing it at Squall's head. She placed her finger on the trigger, and was in for the shock of her life... Literally.  
  
A huge blast of lightning hit Jill's hand, spreading electricity through her whole body. She slumped to the ground, and barely dodged another lunge by Squall in her direction.  
  
Jill had dropped her pistol, but she knew that picking it up would prove futile. The lightning had probably thrown it all out of whack, and it was impossible that it would work now. There was a chance that even trying to use the obviously fried weaponry would electrify her further.  
  
But she still had one weapon left. This weapon had saved her, once, in that mansion outside Raccoon City... And she hoped it could save her again.  
  
Jill drew her bazooka, and pointed it straight at Squall.  
  
She fired.  
  
Flame burst out of the end of her weapon, as Squall backed away at a run... He had an inkling of what was coming. But even with Squall's enhanced instincts, it had been too late. He had avoided bad burns, but the end of the flames still reached his face, exposing his face to extreme heat.  
  
Luckily for him, the actual fire never actually touched his face... But high temperature is as effective a burner as flame. Squall was in pain, and he couldn't fight on by himself. His left hand was immediately drawn to his badly reddened face. In fact, only years of keeping pain bottled up inside of him stopped him from screaming out in anguish.  
  
But he had one last card to play. In his training, Squall had been taught never to go without one of the almighty guardian forces He summoned Bahamut.   
  
The huge dragon came out of nowhere. It flapped its scaly wings at the S.T.A.R.S. gunfighter, who was still staring in shock. It was all too late once she realized that she was about to be hit with fire of her own, and ran full tilt away from the dragon.  
  
Jill couldn't run forever... She hit the end of the arena, and there was nowhere to go. The summoned dragon that had been slowly flying after her opened its mouth, and out gushed very strong flame that hit Jill's legs. It blackened her legs on contact, and she was extremely lucky that the flame was somehow stopped before it reached much of her torso and face. Squall wasn't totally heartless. He would rather not kill a noble opponent, if it were possible.  
  
But even though the flame stayed at her legs… It was pain she had never felt before. Even blows from zombies, or even the occasional gunshot was nothing compared to the red-hot fire pouring out of the Guardian Force.  But mercifully, it only lasted 2 seconds. Long enough, though, to force Jill to the ground, in awful pain.  
  
It was over. The tables had turned… This year, the success that Squall had been devoid of last year had been granted, and the luck in battle that Jill Valentine had experienced was gone. But she would survive, and live to fight another day.  
  
Squall walked over to her, his stoic expression unchanged.  
  
"Alright?"  
  
Jill groaned in pain. She was covered in injuries… The black pants she had been wearing for the fight were in tatters. Where the flame had gotten through to her bare skin, blackened patches were already starting to form… Jill was still lying in the same state that she had been when she was hit by the flame, and she wasn't really sure if she move at all as she was… Her eyes caught a glimpse of medical personnel, already preparing for the treatment she would receive soon.

She sighed, and stared levelly at the man that had beaten her today.  
  
"I think I'll stick to the zombies."

  
  
**Aftermath**  
  
The stadium roared as the spectators chanted the name of the victor. It didn't bring a smile to his face, didn't seem to faze him at all. Squall strode calmly toward the exit. "Congratulations!" Aeris had slipped through the cheering crowd to catch up with the victorious SeeD.  
  
"Whatever. The real fights don't start until the next round."  
  
"Oh, come on!" The flower girl tried out her most adorable pout. "Why do you have to be so down all the time? Listen to them. You won, and they loved it! What's the matter?"  
  
"I'm not here for them," mumbled Squall. "I'm here for myself." _And Rinoa. And Sis_, he thought, although he still couldn't bring himself to say it.  
  
"Well," said Aeris, glancing around, "Cloud and Sora are around here somewhere, and I'm sure they want to congratulate you too. We're celebrating, and you're just gonna have to come along!" She grabbed his hand and half-led, half-dragged him out the entrance to the arena.  
  
_I hope she doesn't want to dance..._  
  
"Oh! Your face! Is that what the problem is?" Aeris asked suddenly.  
  
"I'll be fine."  
  
"Don't give me that. Scars can be very sensitive to heat, and that blast could have fried a chocobo faster than Colonel Sanders. Let me cure that for you." She laid her hand on his brow and spoke a few words in a strange language. The burn felt cooler almost instantly, and within a few seconds the ache was gone. _And that's after I cast my own cure spell on it just a minute ago._  
  
Another of the contestants walked up to the pair, pushing past anyone in the way. "Damn, man!" He bellowed as he neared Squall. "Best eye candy in this whole bunch, and you have to go and sick your little pet dragon on her! I guess you ain't a leg man, 'cause Fido there just about put her in pants for the rest of her life!"  
  
_Duke Nukem. Much as I'd enjoy chatting with him, I've got things I'd rather do. Like book that month-long trip to a deserted island with Zell._  
  
"Well, hello there," continued Duke, noticing Aeris. "You know, this guy ain't much of a one for the ladies. The way I figure, you deserve someone better." He unslung an enormous gun from his back and stuck the barrel under Squall's chin, grinning. "Ain't that right."  
  
There was a swift flash of sunlight on metal as Squall's gunblade slashed between the two men. Duke's gun fell into two cleanly-cut halves. "Point that thing somewhere else next time."  
  
Duke took a step back, and Squall and Aeris started to leave. "Don't worry, that was just my baby gun," He said. Then, with a lewd grin and a wink at Aeris, "Hell, I've got a bigger one on me right now." 


	13. Luigi vs Ratchet

Today's match is between the plumber Luigi and the alien gunner Ratchet. Furious J wrote the preshow, Dan Bonez wrote the match, and Seadragon76 wrote the aftermath.

A quick note: With a lot of first round characters… They won't get quite the character development or in depth descriptions that may go to characters that last longer. It's one problem with working with sixty-four characters.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Preshow**  
  
Ratchet was sitting in his locker room, inspecting his massive arsenal of weaponry. This was what he wanted, in an unknown land competing with other warriors from different dimensions; this was the life for him. Clank was busy fixing the rocket launcher. _Stupid robot. He thinks I won't win. I mean seriously… That guy's a freakin plumber. As far as I can tell, his only weapons are a flashlight and a vacuum cleaner. I mean while I was taking out Chairman Drek, this Luigi character was trying to save goldfish out of a toilet bowl._  
  
"Once again, Ratchet, you can't underestimate Luigi." The small robot said.  
  
"Come on, Clank," Ratchet said, picking up the fixed rocket launcher and checking the sights. "How is he gonna get away from this puppy?"  
  
"He'll have his ways… His older brother Mario made it all the way to the finals last year."  
  
"That's his brother, and besides, **_I_** wasn't there last year."  
  
"I'm not saying you can't win Ratchet, I'm just saying be careful, he'll be tougher than you think."  
  
"Relax, Clank, I didn't come from the other corner of the universe to lose in the first round."  
  
----  
  
Meanwhile, in Luigi's locker room, the Super Mario Brothers were having a big pasta meal, to prepare for Luigi's match. Mario and Luigi were two of the many big eaters in this tourney… And the pasta, mushrooms, and all manner of things that they consumed daily never hindered… They only helped.  
  
"Hey-a Mario, how am I-a gonna win-a. He's-a got-a huge-a freakin guns-a." Luigi said  
  
"Well," Mario replied. "If you're about-a to-a lose, use-a this." Mario pulled a big star from his pocket.  
  
"Hey-a Mario, thats against-a the rules-a."  
  
"Of course-a it is-a! do you think-a I could've-a beaten Cloud and-a Crono, any other-a way last year? Besides, you probably won't-a need it in-a this-a match, we're pretty-a strong."  
  
"OK," Luigi said. "With-a that… I'm-a ready for him."

**The Battle**  
  
Mario sat up in the stands, looking down at the arena, greatly anticipating the upcoming match. He was anticipating it mostly because it would give him a chance to see Luigi in some real action, without a vacuum… and without himself accompanying Luigi. Also, he was a little curious to see who exactly Ratchet was. Nobody had seen much of him before the tournament and Mario had not even caught a glimpse of him.  
  
"GOOHAHAHAHA. Plumber! Here to see your brother get blown into a million pieces?"  
  
Mario recognized the voice, and the stench, of Bowser Koopa. Mario looked over his shoulder and saw the spiked reptilian sitting behind him.   
  
"I've seen some of the gadgets this guy Ratchet has. Makes that guy Mega Man look like a toaster oven. GOHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. TOASTER OVEN. PRICELESS." Bowser pointed over at Mega Man, who was sitting a few rows over.   
  
Mario just smiled over at Bowser. "We will-a talk after we see-a who wins-a the match."   
  
"You won't be talking much! You'll be in shock after seeing your brother get roasted. AHAHAHAHAHAHA. ROASTED IN A TOASTER OVEN!!! OH I SLAY MYSELF! GOHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!" Bowser couldn't keep big mouth-full-of-teeth shut and just kept on laughing. The stench of his breath was unbearable; it smelled like rotten pasta. Bowser finally shut up as the announcer's voice, ready to introduce the fighters, spread throughout the arena.  
  
"And now it's time for the match you've all been patiently waiting for!!"  
  
The crowd let out a deafening cheer. When it died down, the announcer came back on the mic.   
  
"First, coming from the South entrance… is the that loveable cat, he is RATCHET!"  
  
Mario watched Ratchet come out of the south entrance, looking carefully at him. He wasn't sure that was a cat. "That is-a no cat like-a seen before-a." Ratchet waived the wrench he brought out with him in the air, trying to shout something that was inaudible to Mario. The announcer came back on.  
  
"Errr.. my apologies, the loveable FURRY ALIEN, RATCHET!!" Suddenly there was a loud crash, and Mario realized it was Bowser jumping up and down on the bleacher. The bleacher began to bend under his massive weight.  
  
"Where are the GUNS?!?! You brought out a stupid WRENCH over all your GUNS!?!?" Everyone looked over at Bowser. Tommy Vercetti seemed particularly interested in the mention of guns.   
  
"And next coming from the north entrance, popularly known as brother to Mario, the ultimate second-fiddle, the one, the only, LUIGI!" Mario looked on anxiously as Luigi stepped out, ghost-sucking vacuum strapped onto his back. Mario rolled his eyes and slapped his forehead.   
  
"Oh no! I ah-told-a him not to-a wear-a that stupid thing!" Bowser began laughing again, some of his spit flying onto Mario's cap.   
  
"GAHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! The vacuum! He's not a plumber he's a maid! AHAHAHAHAHA. He's gonna CLEAN HIS CLOCK ALRIGHT! OHOHOHOHOHO. That was a good one!"   
  
A voice from behind them shouted, "Down in front, dumb$$!". Mario recognized it as Conker the squirrel. Mario just snickered a little, not bothering to look at Bowser's reaction to this.   
  
The bell sounded and the fight began. Ratchet, with his wrench in hand, immediately charged Luigi, who suddenly bent over, looking like he was going to tie his shoe. Mario was about to shout some panicked advice, but apparently, Ratchet wasn't expecting this sudden stop in the plumber's motion, and tumbled over Luigi's crouched form, landing face first on the floor. Luigi stood up and looked around and all Mario could do was shake his head. "Ohhh Luigi!"  
  
Luigi had bent down to tie his shoe, and before he knew it, his opponent was gone! This was just one thing to add to his list of worries... Luigi was already sweating bullets of nervousness. He had never fought like this in front of a crowd before! All he could think about was all those people watching him, especially Bowser, who he could see laughing his head off with the corner of an eye. It was pressure Luigi had never felt before.   
  
Luigi turned around quickly and saw Ratchet standing up and tossing his wrench to the ground. "Okay, so you wanna play rough, huh? CLANK!"   
  
Luigi was confused, but suddenly a little robot came running from the south entrance, carrying a very large gun in one hand. Alarm bells immediately started in Luigi's head, and the plumber started backing up as fast as he could. Luigi could hear Bowser shouting something in the background as the little guy tossed Ratchet the gun. "I call this my Devastator!"   
  
"Mama mia!" Luigi was quite some distance from Ratchet when the gun fired, releasing a very large missile headed straight for Luigi. He was so confused, so nervous, he did the first thing he could and ducked. When he tried to duck, his rather large nose his the button on the vacuum, which sucked up the approaching missile.   
  
Luigi looked around, confused a little bit, but then hit the expel button on his vacuum and shot a burst of flame right back at Ratchet. Ratchet dove from it however and the flame ball veered a little and was headed straight towards Mario.  
  
Luigi gasped. "Sorry Mario!" All he could see now was his brother's smoke covered face, burning hat, and charred mustache. Oh yeah, and Bowser laughing his head off. Before Luigi could say anything else another missile was flying towards him. This time he rolled to dodge it and fired another burst from his vacuum at Ratchet.  
  
This burst hit Ratchet's Devastator head on, and before it could explode Ratchet tossed it away. "CLANK" This time the robot tossed Ratchet a weird looking glove. "I call this, my bomb glove."   
  
Luigi didn't like the sound of this and tried to launch another fire blast from his vacuum, but only smoke came out of the pipe. "Ooohh nooo!" The bombs came flying quickly at Luigi, and instinctively he starting sucking them up from the air, right into his vacuum. All was good, until he felt a weird rumbling from the backpack of his vacuum. "Uh-oh".  
  
Running away, he quickly slipped off the backpack and threw it over at Ratchet. It exploded and sent Ratchet flying a few feet. Luigi had ducked, pulling his green hat over his head. When he looked out he saw the blast didn't get Ratchet completely, but clearly damaged his bomb glove. "CLANK!" He shouted.  
  
Luigi was worried. He had no vacuum, and Ratchet seemed to have an unlimited supply of weapons. He realized he would have to rely on his strength, wits and cunning… but he quickly remembered he had no strength, wits, and cunning. All Luigi could think about is what Mario would do in this situation… and he remembered! The star! He didn't want to use it because he thought it was cheating, but since Ratchet was getting help from Clank, it didn't matter anymore.  
  
Ratchet began to shout over there, cockily. "This is my Morph-O Ray. Time for you to lose, Luigi!"  
  
Luigi grabbed the star from his pocket, and just as the beam fired at him, Luigi began to flash a brilliant silver color. When the beam hit him, it bounced right off into multiple directions, creating multiple beams. A few of the beams just hit the stadium ceiling, one hit a random fan in the crowd, one hit Clank, and another hit Bowser. All the beam's victims were turned into chickens.  
  
Ratchet was too distracted. He ran over to Clank, who was now a weird cross between a robot and a chicken. Luigi was fixated on the scene that Bowser, now a rather large chicken, was creating. The whole stadium was in pandemonium. He was going around randomly pecking people. One of those people was Link.   
  
"I'll take care of this!", Luigi could hear Link shout, and he saw Link raise his sword and start whacking the Bowser-chicken with it. Suddenly, clucking could be heard in the distance. As if they were coming out of thing air, chickens started raining down from the ceiling, flapping their wings wildly and landing among the stadium's fans. They were pecking away, but most of them were going for Link.   
  
"What-a is going on-a? The star's effect had worn off by now and Luigi was just watching all the craziness created by the chickens in the stadium. Ratchet was busy chasing after Clank the chicken, who was making a b-line straight Luigi. Clank tried pecking at Luigi's leg.   
  
"CLANK! CLANK! Come back! Sorry Clank!" Luigi jumped back a little, away from the chicken, still very confused at what was going on. 

Ratchet suddenly looked over at him, and saw his bewildered face. "This is your fault! You turned Clank into a dumb chicken! I'll beat you without my weapons then!"   
  
Ratchet charged at Luigi, but now that he was weaponless, Luigi was a bit more confident. He leapt over the charging alien and landed very close to wear he tossed his wrench earlier. Luigi picked up the wrench and threw it at Ratchet, who got hit square in the back of the head. Luigi then leapt again, landing right on Ratchet's head with his very large boot.  
  
Luigi bounced off of Ratchet's head and landed right behind him. Ratchet looked a little dazed and in pain, so Luigi added to this by giving him a huge dropkick right to the butt. Ratchet flew a few feet and landed face first. Luigi leapt again, this time landing on Ratchet's back with both feet. He could tell Ratchet was down for the count. The announcer came on the loudspeaker.  
  
"AND WE HAVE A WINNER! LUIGI! Thank God that's over and done with, now hopefully those who have been turned into chickens can go to the medical ward and be turned bac-AHHHH! GET OUT OF HERE YOU STUPID CHICKENS! AHHHHH!"

**Aftermath**  
  
_The Arena_  
  
Luigi had won the battle, a very hard fought battle with Ratchet, at that. He left for his locker room as some of the chickens pecked at the beaten body of Ratchet. Luigi wasn't anxious for the chickens' attention to fall upon him, being already a bit worse for wear from his fight. As soon as he was out of the view of the crowd, he broke into a quite undignified run, 

_That wasn't even-a close-a. Even with-a the guns, he couldn't beat me. It's-a nice. _  
  
Ratchet, after an hour of being out cold and having the chickens pecking the ever loving you-know-what out of him, left for his locker room. He had felt angry about the finish of the match. _I've should of used the RYNO, that could of won for me. But, at least I'll get respect of my fellow friends for this battle. It could have been worse._  
  
----  
  
_Luigi's Locker Room._  
  
Luigi and Mario were celebrating the win for little bro. "I told-a you that Ratchet couldn't beat-a one of the Marios-a." said Mario.

The two brothers had been worried. Ratchet might not have been a famous creature whose name had spread all throughout those in the tourney… But he had been a strong fighter, with weapon after weapon that he could have used in the fight… And Luigi had probably seen at least half of them in the arms of the little partner to Ratchet on his visits to the stadium.

Luigi had almost forgot, as he stared at his older brother, that Mario had a fight too. But it all came back to him now… They weren't a team, fighting for justice and peace, not this time around. Each of them had their own fights to take care of.

"Hey-a, Mario. Don't you got to fight that-a Captain Olimar fella in this-a tourney?" "Yeah. But-a, we need to celebrate-a little, Luigi. You kinda need to relax-a. You won't fight again for at least-a another month."  
  
"It's-a Squall next for me...I'm sure-a that this 'sullen and mysterious' hero-a will be no match for the mighty Luigi!" With that, Mario left and Luigi celebrated by himself… There was still more pasta to be consumed.  
  
----  
  
_Ratchet's Locker Room_  
  
"What luck...I have all of this weaponry, and I lose to a stinking plumber."

Ratchet had been close… He had the technology, the will, the planning to defeat Luigi. But in the end, the plumber that Ratchet had greatly underestimated had proved Clank's warnings true. Luigi had power that one couldn't see if they just looked at his eccentric look… And Ratchet had learned that today, to his cost.  
  
Just then, Clank walked into the locker room along with a few visitors that had arrived to watch the fight. Ratchet's big eyes widened further as he caught sight of them.

"Jak, Daxter...What are you two doing here?"

"We're on vacation, and we thought that since you were involved in this event, we would come and see you." said Daxter. Daxter's usually fairly silent compadre had some words to say too… That was a true sign of the respect he had for what Ratchet had done.

"Great work, Ratchet. You have my respect." Jak's partner didn't feel the same way, however… Being the smartaleck that he was, Daxter was non-chalant and a bit abrasive on his comments on how Ratchet lost to a "crack showing, wrench using, piece of..."  
  
Ratchet was very grateful when Clank and Jak managed to team up to stick duct tape on Daxter's yammering mouth.

Ratchet knew that he shouldn't be ashamed of his performance. He had actually fought a man who was a legend in his own world, and gave him a good fight. It was time for Ratchet to go, now. But he had left a good impression on all that had seen his battle.


	14. KOSMOS vs Crash

Alright… As far as the brackets, they will be updated at the end of the next match. However, there's no real trick to the brackets… They go exactly how, say, an NCAA tournament bracket would go. No altering will go on with the brackets (I think someone asked that).

Today's match features KOS-MOS, the android from Xenosaga, and Crash Bandicoot, former famous Sony mascot. BigCow wrote the prep, Furious J wrote the match, and Seadragon wrote the aftermath.

------------------------------------------------------------

**Preshow**  
  
By the next day, the medical ward had nearly finished up undoing the damage dealt by the sudden chicken infestation. They were in for a bit of a surprise however when Kirby came flying in, with feathers sticking out of him. The normally pink puffball was mostly white with feathers pointing in every direction. He clucked sporadically and started pecking at the ground.   
  
The healers tried restoring him to normal, but with no luck. Finally, Ness poked his head in and spoke up.  
  
"Open his mouth!"  
  
The healers did, and a star flew out. Kirby had apparently swallowed a chicken. A little upset by the interruption, they quickly kicked Kirby out.  
  
Duke Nukem was leaving the medical ward as well, with tiny white feathers all over his exposed arms. He had apparently told one of the nurses that his entire body was covered in feathers as a result of the fowl attack, and asked if she would be willing to help get them off. No such luck. Duke's reputation was already such that he was striking out more often than Ness. Hence, he had nothing to lose by hitting on a robot this time.  
  
KOS-MOS always seemed to be pacing, and collecting data. Apparently, robots didn't get bored. She was currently watching with detachment as Ness used Kirby as a ball.  
  
"Hey, dollface. What do you say you shift gears and see if I can get your motor running? I'd love to turn you on baby, push your buttons..."  
  
KOS-MOS stared at Duke. It was impossible to guess what she must have been thinking. Duke grinned at her.  
  
"If whatever you are suggesting involves getting covered in feathers, I will have to decline."  
  
"Yeah, well, you see, it was fowl play. Those chicks couldn't keep their hands off me. Can't imagine why, they must have gotten me confused with a big rooster. You know, a giant c..."  
  
Tommy Vercetti ran up and interrupted him.  
  
"Sweet cheeks! What are you doing with this bum?"  
  
Duke Nukem smugly grinned at Vercetti. "Now see, darling, you don't want to be seen with this kind of loser. He doesn't love you for yourself, he just wants your weaponry cause he has no chance of winning on his own. I want you for you, hon."  
  
KOS-MOS began walking away.   
  
Vercetti spoke up again. "Ha! Big talk for the guy who lost to a white haired pretty boy! He's all talk and no action, baby. She knows I can handle myself- and her as well."  
  
KOS-MOS spoke up again, but kept walking, leaving the two men behind.  
  
"Ordinarily I would destroy you both, but I must win a match now, and the likely expenditure of ammo to deal with both of you would deplete my reserves by 12%. If either of you are here when I return I compute a 93% probability that you will leave in pieces."  
  
Vercetti laughed nervously. "Uh, you know you're not allowed to prevent contestants from fighting in their upcoming matches, right?"  
  
"I detect that neither of you have any need for your tongues to fight, unless it is to overload the auditory systems of your foes. If that is the case, other arrangements can be made."  
  
Duke raised one eyebrow. "Apparently she likes it rough."  
  
Vercetti decided against telling Duke about his numerous experiences with KOS-MOS; he simply shook his head and walked to the arena. It would be nice to see the robot pulverizing someone else for a change.  
  
----  
  
Crash Bandicoot was literally bouncing off the walls. He span and dived around his room. Pretty soon, the whole crowd would get to see his finest moves in action. KOS-MOS was a robot. He had killed plenty of robots. Robots were predictable. Crash on the other hand, operated on pure animal instinct and ingenuity. Last year he beat a dancer but lost to a magician. Magicians were weird, but a robot…robots he knew how to deal with.  
  
He practiced spinning around the room and slamming the ground. He grinned. He could do this. Confidently, he made his way out to the arena, where the mechanical contraption would soon meet its fate.

**The Battle**  
  
KOS-MOS emerged from her storage unit, having finished a final scrutiny of the uploaded data on her opponent, Crash Bandicoot. She entered the arena stadium, met by a loud cheer. Her opponent, the bandicoot himself, was already on the other side trying to pump up the crowd.  
  
"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!!!!!" yelled Crash, doing the Egyptian. Having seen KOS-MOS he moved towards the center of the field in order to start the match.  
  
"Oh yeah," said Crash, "Let's do it."  
  
"Before the match starts I wish to inform you that I have carefully analyzed your strengths and attack plans." said KOS-MOS. "You have only a 38.023% chance of surviving this match. If you wish to surrender, now is your last chance."  
  
"No way!" said Crash, the crowd submitted their approval with a roar of applause.  
  
"In that case… Let us begin."  
  
The announcer gave the signal and the bell rang out.  
  
Immediately KOS-MOS yelled out, "MODE A-7!" She was then shrouded in light for a few moments as she underwent one of her many processes. The light vanished as quickly as it had come, as the robot stated matter-of-factly, "Performance up, 50%."  
  
Crash responded by attacking with a spinning attack, however, his move had been anticipated. Crash watched in horror as the arm of KOS-MOS slowly morphed into a drill and thrust in his direction. "WHOA!!!!" yelled Crash. He barely dodged it and took to the evasive. He heard KOS-MOS yell, "R-Cannon" from behind him and began to zigzag back and forth dodging the sequential blasts. _Wow, all that running from Cortex has really paid off._ Crash thought to himself, grinning widely even as a beam of light whizzed by his head.   
  
"Impressive," said KOS-MOS, slightly amused. "His agile movements have decreased my accuracy by 18%. More aggressive actions are required." KOS-MOS ceased fire. Crash, assuming she was out of ammunition, stopped to brag.  
  
"OH YEAH!!! Can't touch this, baby! Mario ain't got nothin' on this!" Crash said, doing the Robot in front of the players booth.  
  
While Bowser and Wario seemed to be quite entertained by Crash's antics, the Mario Brothers, and even their animal companions, Donkey Kong and Yoshi, seemed appalled.  
  
"Hey-a, get-a back to the-a fighting." Mario yelled.  
  
"Yeah, a who do you think-a you are-a." Luigi joined in. 

Yoshi just sort of squealed something, but you could tell it was an insult.   
  
Crash whipped around to give the Mario Brothers a better view of his backside, but while turned around he witnessed something that he rather wished he hadn't. KOS-MOS's abdomen was opening, all ready to reveal her next attack… And it was quick in coming. A blue pillar emerged from her back, then the words, "X-Buster" emerged from her mouth. Immediately hundreds of blue lasers shot out of her stomach, all converging on Crash Bandicoot.  
  
"OH NO!!!" yelled Crash. His fate probably would've been decided there, but the beams trajectory had also been aimed at the player's booth. Grudgingly, Magus rose to his feet, realizing that his work was needed. He drew his breath and muttered a spell. Quickly a blue sphere of energy spun outward from his body enclosing the Player's Booth, as well as Crash, from incoming disaster. The laser impacted and exploded on the shield, leaving all the contestants, including Crash, unscathed. The bandicoot, a little uncertainly at first, rose to his feet, at the spot where he had been cowering earlier, and began to say, "OH YE-" Unfortunately as he rose up to fight anew, KOS-MOS had closed the distance between them and turned her right arm into a gigantic hammer. Crash saw the new weapon on his android opponent's arm a spilt second before it hit him straight on the noggin. A large bump rose from Crash's head, and he collapsed to the ground.   
  
"The winner is KOS-MOS!!!" yelled the announcer.

**Aftermath**   
  
KOS-MOS's Locker Room  
  
KOS-MOS, the android with a weapon assortment that had made Ratchet jealous, had quickly returned to her locker room after her victory. She couldn't figure out why a being like Crash had even been there for the tourney… He was obviously inferior in skill to many of the present fighters, including herself, that KOS-MOS had seen and analyzed. The type of power she had enabled KOS-MOS to know from a simple scan of an opponent's capability… And it had shocked her that some of those arranged here could be so weak and still be among their world's most powerful. 

KOS-MOS's examinations and thoughts of this new dimension's power were cut short by a rude, forceful, opening of the door to her locker room. With one look at her visitor, KOS-MOS's usually emotionless eyes narrowed.   
  
_Not this human again_, thought KOS-MOS. And, yes, it was Duke Nukem. Once again, the tall, brash man was trying to get with one of the ladies... This time, KOS-MOS. "Well, well, well. We meet again. How about you see what kind of big guns I have?" This ungentlemanly-like behavior was starting to anger KOS-MOS, something that was very rare. It hadn't been something that had happened to her in any of her past experience, and she had been programmed with enough information to know that it was most impolite.

That… And it was just plain annoying.  
  
"Please. If you do not leave, I'll be force to use extreme measures to eliminate you." said KOS-MOS. Duke, ever the womanizer, continued until KOS-MOS snapped.

Duke had been forced to make something of an undignified scramble from the locker room, as KOS-MOS's potent dual miniguns were suddenly loaded, and pointed straight at his face. Once again, as they had for the last month, Duke's wooing of women had failed. And he was getting more and more upset about this.

_Um… Ladies? C'mon, this never happens to me! All of ya should be falling all over me by now!_

It had all been a very new experience for the android… Many of these people had personalities unlike anything she had seen before. Unfortunately, most of the new personalities that had been evidenced hadn't been much to the robot's liking.

_These are the sixty-four most worthy in all of time and space?_  
  
Crash's Locker Room  
  
Crash Bandicoot, once considered a hero to many, had the feeling that all people who are washed up feel. _This was it. I had a chance to regain my name and all the people who loved me would love me once again,_ thought Crash. Maybe his time was in the spotlight was up, and his fame has fallen to a new low. But, for Crash, it was the identity of the thing he'd lost to that angered him so much… His nemesis, Dr. Cortex, had created androids like the one he had faced in the arena, and he had beaten them all.   
  
"It's time for me to retire from this business," said Crash. It'd been two years that he'd come to this new, detached dimension, bent on victory… But for the past two years, he had faced nothing but failure. He had quickly been ousted in both of his trips to this arena.

_Can it be that I'm out of my league?_

With that, he headed off to his hotel room to pack for his trip out of the dimension. They might remember Crash Bandicoot, but not for today's match with KOS-MOS.


	15. Samus vs Isaac

After this match, we're a quarter of the way through the first round... Today, you'll see what Isaac of Golden Sun and Samus of Metroid can do.

Furious J wrote the preshow, StopPokingMe wrote the match, and BigCow wrote the aftermath.

---------------------------------------------

**Preshow**  
  
Isaac was in the locker room preparing for his battle. He had fought many difficult foes before, but then again, the same could be said of his opponent, Samus Aran. He didn't know much about her, but no one did… All the swordsman knew is that she had shown up, all mysterious in her red and orange suit last year, and whooped some serious ass. He had seen her at the training center earlier, in the simulation room, taking on all the hardest sims without taking a scratch. He knew he'd have to be at the top of his game to pull this one off.

Someone knocked on his door, and it was Felix, an old friend, as well as a fellow competitor in the tourney. He and Felix had traveled together in their first adventures, but Felix always seemed to have been focusing on something else. Isaac really hadn't gotten to know his friend all that well; plus he kept getting bad vibes from him. Who knew?  
  
"So, Isaac, are you ready for your match?" Felix asked, determinedly not making eye contact.  
  
"Well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Isaac replied, trying to smile. He, on the contrary, stared straight at Felix… He wondered why his friend of sorts wasn't meeting his gaze.  
  
"Yeah, I just came... To wish you luck." Felix continued, still not looking at Isaac. "My sister told me to give you her best, so...."  
  
"Yeah, Jenna's a great kid," said Isaac. "Anyway, good luck with your match too. That cyborg guy looked pretty sharp at the firing range."  
  
"Thanks, but I won't need it." Felix shot back at him, leaving the room.  
  
_There are those bad vibes again, Oh well._ Isaac picked up his sword and headed for the Arena. _Magic beats guns, doesn't it?_

**The Battle**  
  
The crowd was deafening as the two combatants entered the arena, but most of the cheers were for the power-suited bounty hunter. Comparatively little fanfare accompanied the introduction of Isaac, adept of Vale. Fan favorite Samus Aran raised one gloved hand to quiet the crowd so that she could hear the announcement of the start of the match.  
  
"Begin!" came the voice, and Samus curled into a sphere. In a fraction of a second, she covered the distance between the two fighters. Isaac adopted a defensive position against his speeding foe, but was surprised to see her curve her path slightly so as to narrowly miss him, rolling around behind. _What was that for? Wasn't she trying to hit me, like Ai-Ai had against Link?_ wondered Isaac. Too late, he noticed the circular object she had left at his feet, blinking ominously.  
  
BOOM! Isaac yelled in pain as the explosion knocked him into the air, but even as he landed his eyes were closed in concentration, channeling the psynergy to heal his wounds. The cuts and burns on his legs sealed nearly instantly. "You'll have to do better than that!" he yelled to the advancing Samus, and made a move as it to leap back to his feet.  
  
The bounty hunter took the bait perfectly, firing a salvo of missiles. She thought she had crippled the boy just moments ago, but she knew that in this company, nothing was certain. Samus' missile barrage flew harmlessly over Isaac's head as he rolled to the side rather than rising to his feet. Again, his eyes closed. A few small stalks grew from the dead soil of the arena floor, at first apparently harmless. They quickly grew, however, and in a matter of seconds they were as thick as a man's arms, coiling and constricting around the armored woman's legs and torso.  
  
The strength-enhancing motors in her suit strained audibly as Samus struggled against the vines. First one, then another snapped. Then another, and another. She was free, and she began to stride through the grasping tendrils toward Isaac. Vines broke and were uprooted as they tried feebly to impede the bounty hunter's progress. _So, you want to play with plants, nature boy?_ Samus made a quick modification to her weaponry arm and began to charge it as she quickened her pace. Isaac was backing away, vines bursting from the ground between the two fighters. Samus unleashed a long blast from her now fully-charged flamethrower in the direction of the boy. The newly grown vines burst into flame, and Isaac's eyed opened. He lifted his shield to protect himself from the fire, but his concentration was broken and the vines fell to the ground, lifeless and charred.  
  
----  
  
In the players' booth, KOS-MOS watched her potential opponents with dispassionate interest. She still wasn't able to shake Vercetti, who had found his way to the seat next to her and persisted in pestering her. "So, baby, how do you think this is going to go down?"  
  
"Having analyzed their combat patterns with my tactical metric, I would estimate Isaac has, at optimum performance specifications, no more than a 24.66% chance of victory."  
  
"Huh?" asked the bewildered Tommy.  
  
KOS-MOS paused a nanosecond to put her conclusion in terms the thug might use himself, based on his speech patterns. "Samus is going to rip Isaac a new I/O port."  
  
Well, it was a good try.  
  
----  
  
Isaac charged into the flames, using his shield to deflect the fire around his body. He thrust with his blade as he neared the bounty hunter. His sword struck her in the chest, but rang harmlessly off of her armor. This did not bode well for Isaac. Samus leaped backward firing another volley of missiles. Again, Isaac concentrated his psynergetic powers, displacing the projectiles. They exploded around him, doing no damage. Isaac shifted his focus to the ground beneath Samus' feet. A huge spike of stone shot up from the ground underneath Samus. The crowd let out a shocked gasp, as she was nowhere to be seen. Had the underdog pulled the unthinkable upset?  
  
The Chozo had not designed Samus' suit with sharp rocks in mind, but it was more than sufficient protection against them, even on the soles of the feet. The force of the attack, however, had thrown Samus high into the air above the stadium. She twisted around in the air and aimed her gun-arm between her legs toward Isaac on the ground far below.  
  
Isaac looked up to see Samus falling toward him, preceded by a hail of energy fire. The effort of expending so much psynergy was starting to take its toll on him, and he lifted his shield too slowly. One blast seared through his hair. _At least nobody will mistake me for Cloud anymore._ Another shot hit him in the thigh, then a third in the shoulder, and he fell to the ground.  
  
Samus landed nearby, switched to her ice beam, and took careful aim. This time, the boy simply staggered to his feet. The frigid blast caught Isaac squarely in the chest, and he froze stiff. Samus sprinted to the frozen Isaac, extending her grappling beam. Isaac stood helpless as the energy wrapped his wrists and ankles. As he thawed, Samus retracted the grappling beam, pulling Isaac's hands and feet together behind his back. She lifted the hog-tied swordsman and dangled him in front of her face as she lifted her visor. "Do you surrender?"  
  
"Yes," was all Isaac could manage before he passed out. 

**Aftermath**  
  
Link stood alone outside the arena. The company of Tingle had begun to wear thin on him, and he didn't want the advice of Zelda or their owl friend at the moment. The north division was finished at last. The first set of fighters had tested their mettle, and in a few cases, their metal, and the worthiest warriors had advanced.  
  
Link knew he topped off that list. He had dispatched his foe with ease. AiAi had been pathetically amusing. But all the fighters who remained were serious about winning... except for Luigi of course.   
  
Link still had to wonder at the success of the plumbers. Last year, the final match had taken place between him and Mario. Mario was a legend, confident, capable in his own right, and had a tenacity for not giving up that outshone even the most focused of the tournaments fighters. _It's like he can't even feel fear, he's too carefree._  
  
Samus in particular had been impressive to watch, that very day. The bounty hunter was obviously focused and capable, even against elemental forces one didn't run into traveling around her galaxy. She had dispatched her opponent efficiently, and did so with enough regard for Isaac's life to make sure he was unharmed, his hair notwithstanding. Link held back pangs of guilt as he thought about his own match. _It was only a stupid monkey..._  
  
He'd been rooting for Isaac in that match. Link could see himself in a lot of the other swordfighters, and he had been hoping Isaac's blade would prove a threat to Samus. It didn't. Out of all the swordfighters, Link seemed to be the only one capable of defying the odds.  
  
"It's just as well," Link said to no one in particular. "They're all so weak anyway. I've probably fought harder than they ever did, and I'm more of a hero."  
  
He sighed, almost wishing Zelda was around to contradict him, or tell him he shouldn't be cocky. He'd prove to her and everyone else that he really was the most capable warrior soon. And as for Ganondorf... the "king of evil" wouldn't get beyond him. His own abilities were always improving.  
  
The next division had a few sword fighters, most notably Cloud Strife. As they did in his division, the fighters ranged from serious, like Cloud and Auron, to downright goofy like Yoshi and Ness. And CATS was just flat out weird.  
  
Time would tell what kind of attitude it would take to prevail. Link was determined and confident. It remained to be seen whether that would be his greatest strength, or weakness.  
  
----  
  
Ness watched Link brood, away from his friends. Everyone's always so serious. Why can't the grown-ups see that it's just a game!  
  
He rolled his eyes at Link and scampered off. He fought a giant turtle in a few days. He knew the Mario bros knew Bowser better than anyone else, and he wanted to know all he could about the big reptile before he beat him. _Bowser should be fun... I'll bet he hasn't seen someone like me before! I'll drive him nuts!_  
  
Ness spun his yo-yo in the air and laughed. He tossed in the air with a psychic spell and jumped up and caught it again. It was a good night to be alive. 


	16. Cloud vs CATS

Today, we have a match between Final Fantasy VII hero Cloud Strife, and newgrounds.com Engrish favorite CATS of Zero Wing, and of the famous "All your base are belong to us."

Furious J wrote the preshow, BigCow wrote the match, and Seadragon and I wrote the aftermath.

**Preshow**  
  
Cloud wasn't in his locker room. He was just sitting at the now empty stadium. He hadn't even bothered stretching or practicing… Hell, he had even thought about not bringing his sword for this fight, but had decided the fans came for a show. He had been disgusted by Link in the first round, completely decimating that poor AiAi, but now he felt compelled, almost obligated to humiliate this CATS in a similar fashion. _This is different, that monkey was nothing, if not cute. He didn't have the right to do that. But this guy.....is so......annoying._ He thought back to the other day when CATS had confronted him.  
  
"HAHAHAHA, your destruction for time is up!!!!" he had said laughing maniacally.   
  
How could you respond to a threat with such deplorable sentence structure? He had just walked away, trying not to kill the idiotic robot before the match. It wasn't just him either. Everyone seemed annoyed with CATS. Whenever he walked into a room people would all be like, "Oh hey, look at the time, gotta go." Or "I really should be training for my big match." He had heard Link use that one before his battle with AiAi.  
  
"Oh well," Cloud thought aloud. "At least I have an easy win today."  
  
The sound of footsteps echoed in the empty arena, seeming almost to respond to Cloud's statement. Turning around, Cloud was not very surprised to see Auron striding up to him.  
  
"Even with the victory at hand, the warrior should not let up until its obtained." said the wise old swordsman.  
  
"This coming from the guy who was so disgusted by Link's slaughter of the monkey?" Cloud responded.  
  
"There is a difference between a complete victory, and a slaughter. I merely say this to convey a message."  
  
"What message is that?"  
  
"This is the round were people begin to gauge their opponents. My young friend Tidus was not prepared and was...well he faced the consequences. If you intend to gain the respect of your fellow combatants, now is the time to do it."  
  
"Thanks for the advice, old man, but I don't need it, I wasn't intending on repeating Link's disgusting performance anyway." Cloud said rising from his seat. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a battle to win."

**The Battle**  
  
CATS with power stood was in arena. Cloud soon would rain tears, CATS thought. _Sword was be striked in owned head._  
  
CATS had been alien to fight humans. Commander great of ships, he would fought now against human. But his sleeves were containing tricks. Killing zigs, he could destruct Cloud.  
  
Cloud made sigh and walked to CATS. Cloud was alien, his mind to CATS illogical. CATS thought about thoughts of near dead foe. CATS laughed in capital letters.  
  
"HA HA HA."  
  
----  
  
Cloud shook his head. His opponent looked like some alien cyborg mismash. CATS had giant green hair that stood straight up. _My hair is way cooler, that just looks like a cucumber._ CATS wore a purple cape that concealed most of his person. _It's not like he needs the help, everything he does is incomprehensible._  
  
The alien's laugh was beginning to annoy Cloud. He had no doubt that the alien would just stand there laughing forever if he didn't make the first move. Cloud pulled out his sword and decided to rip apart CATS's cloak, just for starters.  
  
----  
  
CATS held at sword no fear when swung. Blade hit him but did not. CATS ripped Cloud new one in dimension, force blow of missed. CATS reached fist and hit Cloud. Cloud more than hurt startled. CATS threw and beamed Cloud.  
  
CATS laughed at Cloud's disorientation. "IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO NOT DIE. GIVE IT UP, YES."  
  
----  
  
Cloud still couldn't believe he missed. His sword had been lined up perfectly, and CATS hadn't even moved. By all rights, he should have hit him. Instead, CATS had turned the tables and knocked him backwards with some sort of energy blast. The whole thing felt wrong. _Well, if he wants to do this the hard way..._  
  
Cloud returned his sword to its scabbard and extended both of his hands. He carefully recited the incantation for a spell he was sure CATS couldn't dodge, whatever his abilities.  
  
----  
  
Surprise took CATS as ground shook. CATS phased and blipped, but earth sunk CATS. CATS stood on back rather than feet now, with boulder on his top. CATS heard human above stands complain about damage. CATS shook with rage.  
  
"YOUR TRICKS ARE NOT WINNING. BEHOLD THE POWER OF MY ZIG!"  
  
CATS summoned ZIG fighters. Sky was now been fill by ship. Shot of ship shot rock on CATS. CATS stood as ships flew to enemy. Cloud's abilities of whatever could not be fighted in army.  
  
"ZIG SHALL MOVE YOU CLOUD! YOU BE DEATHED IF YOU DO NOT GIVE IT UP!"  
  
----  
  
Cloud kept getting madder. The alien barely seemed rationally affected by his attack. He was trying to do it a favor by not annihilating it in one blow. And now he was calling in outside help. _Well, two can play at that game._   
  
The audience, already in a panic from the flying whirlwind of ships, let out a collective gasp as Cloud simply vanished from the Arena. With the exception of Aeris, Sephiroth, and a few others, Cloud's disappearance was perceived as a retreat.  
  
However, Cloud's fading form was soon replaced by a giant dragon. Bahamut... the king of the dragons. The giant beast sent out spurts of flame at the ships that buzzed around him like gnats. Bahamut took to the air, and the ships followed.  
  
CATS laughed at the dragon. Along with spouting non-sequiturs, it seemed to be all he knew how to do. "YOU SCALES SHALL HAVE DIE BY METALS AND GUN!"  
  
The crowd flinched as they saw the fire surge through the air-but Bahamut's blasts were incredibly focused, and the ships disappeared and faded away upon being destroyed... like they were never really there.   
  
Finally, the giant dragon disappeared and Cloud returned. The remaining ships began to converge on him again.  
  
----  
  
With dragon destroyed, Cloud had come back. CATS taunted human with great repitition.  
  
"NOW YOU SHALL TRULY SEE ALL MY BASE"  
  
CATS saw electric hit ZIG and flame hit cloud. Electric won. Last ship failed by split in two. CATS head shook. _Sword attack me for nothing, not so ship. Ship happens._  
  
----  
  
Cloud looked at his foe with a mix of rage and annoyance. The alien had bugged him enough. Cloud leaped in the air above CATS and executed an omnislash. His sword whizzed through the air dozens of times, but managed to strike CATS more often than he missed. Cloud looked at CATS who didn't seem to be bleeding, but was obviously in pain, as he had fallen to the ground. Cloud sighed.  
  
"Had enough?"  
  
"YOUR SWORD OF WEAKNESS SHALL BE YOUR DOOM UNLESS YOU USE IT ON YOU."  
  
Cloud rolled his eyes, and slashed CATS across the chest. Eventually, the alien chief would either take a hint, or collapse.  
  
"HA HA HA HA"  
  
Cloud cut off CATS cape and threw it over his mouth.  
  
"SOMEONE SET UP US THE BOMB"  
  
CATS somehow set off an explosion. Cloud jumped back instinctively, and saw CATS covered in ashes, and looking worse than before.  
  
"HOW ARE YOU GENTLEMEN? I'M FINE, THANKS"  
  
----  
  
CATS was having flashbacks. His alien life passed before his alien eyes.  
  
"ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO U.S."  
  
CATS felt sword again. He was having hard time getting it on, but he must talk.  
  
"YOU ARE ON THE WAY TO DEST..."  
  
----  
  
Cloud banged CATS in the head with the flat of his sword. _Why won't he shut up?_ Cloud tried hammering the hilt of his sword into CATS skull.  
  
CATS coughed, and looked Cloud in the eye with a sad expression.  
  
"THERE ARE NO INFIDELS IN BAGHDAD. NEVER. WE SHALL DESTROY THEM WITH..."  
  
But the alien had finally passed out. Cloud sighed for what seemed like the millionth time. _Well, that was surreal._   
  
Aeris stopped scratching her head long enough to cheer. Auron nodded his head. Cloud glanced at CATS nervously, but the alien's chest was still rising and falling. _Good. Score one for self-control._  
  
Cloud sighed yet again. He was glad that was over with. It may not count as a warm-up, but at least they were done with the enigmatic CATS. 

**Aftermath**  
  
Cloud's Locker Room__

_Thank god this goofball's been beaten._  
  
It was a gathering of the sullen and the moody in Cloud Strife's locker room. Squall Leonhart, perhaps the exact opposite of a social butterfly, had joined Cloud for a little chat. Though little was actually being said… For Squall, this visit to show his congratulations was a major show of emotion.

"…Nice job."

"Thanks."

"…Just saying, though… I used the dragon first."  
  
Cloud grunted.

"It was all I could really think of… Drawing out a fight against this guy was not something I could have done. Maybe he couldn't have outfought me, but he certainly could have driven me crazy."  
  
The Arena  
  
It had been 12 hours after the definitely odd battle of CATS and Cloud. The coliseum was deserted, the viewers had gone home, and the staff had cleaned up.

Well… With one exception.

CATS, the completely mad alien, was still out cold on the arena floor, just like he had been for the last twelve hours. He had been left to rest and recuperate… But now, it was time for him to prepare to leave the dimension, just like the nine that had lost before him. Medical staff picked up the beaten and battered body of CATS and carried him to his locker room. Even for the insane alien, there were things to finish before he vanished from the dimension.

First among those tasks, though, was dealing with the memory problems that had been caused by Cloud's absolute beating on the alien.

"What did happen on me?" asked CATS.

The medical staff was non-committal. Like the rest of those from the dimension, they had been unsure whether to be scared or amused by the laughable character that CATS was. They had personally settled on both. But amused or not, CATS's unpredictability was too much for many people.

Not noticing the lack of response from his audience, CATS continued voicing his thoughts.

"Alas... Return we shall time next, and then all your base are belong to me! HA HA!"  
  
So CATS retrieved his scanty belongings, and was back to the futuristic world of Zigs, war, and life in deep space. The man that was perhaps the most eccentric of the entire sixty-four had returned to his own world.

Elsewhere…  
  
Sephiroth had not yet trained in the training center. And he didn't intend to.  
  
He was powerful, as he always had been. His arrogance led him to believe that no one could defeat him, and that Link's victory last year was a simple fluke. He had crushed worthy foes last year, and he firmly believed that that irritatingly powerful swordsman, Link, hadn't defeated him, he would have won last year. That mistake would not be repeated this time around.

So he simply watched his enemies, as they trained. He lurked in corners, seldom unveiling himself to a group of people that were likely already wary of him… Rumors spread fast around the tourney, and Sephiroth knew that Cloud and Aeris would be warning everyone they knew about his menace. With so many strangers gathered, what limited information that people were willing to share was, of course highly regarded.

_So they've already decided that I'm a scourge on them, a shadowy figure that will manipulate and attempt to destroy them all._

_I do not claim that these fears are falsehoods… What they believe is truth. But it will help them little in the end._

The silver haired man very rarely even concentrated on those around him, though. He was always thinking about himself, and how to gain power. When he went in to the arena; he would go in with the same devastating power that he had always utilized. The flame, the sword, and the manipulation of the mind.

It was very narcissistic. But that was how Sephiroth always had been. Once it got into his vindictive, clever mind that he had to be the almighty God of all… The one-winged angel would do all that he could for that power. Just like his mother had taught him.

Ramza Beoulve didn't like it.  
  
Ramza was too used to experiences with "Gods", those people trying to achieve ultimate power... He had had too many problems with them in the past. Ramza had learned what happened to those that were given absolute power, whether it was Vormav, Wiegraf, or others… They were corrupted by that power, and lost the humility that Ramza thought as so important. After you first experienced that godlike power, your mind immediately fell into evil and greed.  
  
And it seemed that Sephiroth was in that mold. The one-winged angel, was, as Ramza had both observed and gathered from others, completely corrupted by power.   
  
Ramza just watched. He wasn't impulsive, he wasn't going to rush up to the silver-haired power, and attempt to finish it off then and there. It had never been his way… And it was against tourney rules. But the young man of Ivalice would have his chance soon enough. If you lasted long enough, you would meet any rival in the coliseum. This tournament had a way of settling scores.  
  
_Round 3. I've faced self-proclaimed Gods before, and I've beaten them. Sephiroth, in the end, will fall just like Ajora did… A mortal man, in the end, without the almighty power that could set him apart._  
  
----  
  
Duke Nukem and Tommy Vercetti sat glumly on a bench by the training center.  
  
"Vercetti? Still nothin'?"  
  
"Nah."  
  
"These chicks here... A robot, a chick that wants to be a robot, that flower girl... Damn. They're supposed to be attracted to me! The hell's goin on?"

"They just don't know what they're missin."


	17. Auron vs Tails

Just to answer a review here, regarding Link. I agree that he is definitely a bit different from the normal Link that you will see in fanfics, but remember, the guy has no lines, and therefore, no real character to fluctuate from all that much. Also… He is the defending champion. Everyone would be a little cocky after that.

So, in any case… Back to the story. This is a match between Auron, mysterious samurai mentor from Final Fantasy X, and Tails, Sonic the Hedgehog's best friend. Dan Bonez wrote the prefic, StopPokingMe wrote the match, and Furious J wrote the aftermath.

------------------------------------------------------------

**Preshow**  
  
The day of his match felt like any other day to Auron. Maybe it was because he had fought in so many battles during his life, and his afterlife, that he was not excited about this one. Or maybe it was because his opponent was a child. He had heard many of his fellow competitor's opinions already; they felt he was a lock to win the match. The other two men standing with him in Nook's shop shared that opinion. Auron couldn't say he disagreed with any of them, he just felt it unwise to underestimate any opponent.   
  
"So, you think you'll be ready to face me in the next round, old timer?" Asked Cloud, the spikey-haired young man that Auron had made acquaintances with at the beginning of this tournament. Coincidentally, Cloud would be his competition in the next round.   
  
"More than ready." Auron replied, coolly, confidently.   
  
"Right after you get done chopping up that two-tailed Fox into bits, right?" Inquired the third man, the one in the emerald-colored combat suit, known only as Master Chief.   
  
"Yeah, that little kid shouldn't be much trouble." Cloud added, nodding in agreement.   
  
"I never underestimate my opponents. Not only would it hinder me in the fight, it would be dishonorable not to give an opponent the proper respect he or she deserves." Auron told the man with sternness in his voice that rivaled even the most domineering personality. The three men continued to look through Nook's selection of weapons, not really planning to buy anything, just doing something to pass the time.   
  
"Opponent? Heh. He's just a little kid for crying out loud. Maybe you are getting senile in your old age," scoffed the marine, jokingly. Auron stared right into the man's bronze visor, attempting to stare him in the eye, but ended up staring back at his own sunglasses. He raised an eyebrow and maybe if he were his younger self, he would have taken extreme offense to that "senile" comment.   
  
"You have not studied your opponents well, Chief. Young Prower, from what I have seen, is-"  
  
Auron was interrupted, suddenly, by someone clearing their throat behind him, purposely trying to interrupt.   
  
"Did I hear you guys right? Were you all talking about my little buddy Tails?" The three men turned around and looked down slightly, focusing on the blue form of Sonic the Hedgehog. All three men knew him well. He had probably caused the most ruckus out of any of the other contestants...and apparently, from the not-too-happy expression on his face, he had overheard their conversation.   
  
"I don't recall you being included in this conversation, Sonic," muttered Cloud, who seemed deeply annoyed just by the hedgehog's presence.   
  
"I don't recall caring." Retorted Sonic, with a smart-alecky grin stretched across his face. "What was your name again? Clod?"   
  
Cloud grumbled. "For the last time, my name is CLOUD. CLOUD. Not Clod!" Cloud's face turned red slightly in frustration. Apparently Sonic had called him Clod before.   
  
"Sorry buddy, you look like a Clod." Sonic just couldn't stand still while he was talking either. He had to dart back and forth between the men, behind the men, who were moving their heads quickly just to keep up with him. Sonic stopped in front of Master Chief.   
  
"And what was your name? Master Chump? What'd you do to your parents to deserve THAT name?"   
  
Master Chief just looked down at the hedgehog through his visor, tapping at the rifle he had strapped to his side. "Two quick shots is all I need, Hedgehog." Sonic darted again, this time behind Master Chief. Sonic bent over and inspected the gun, even flicking the safety on and off a few times. Before Master Chief could react, Sonic had darted away and was back in front of him again.   
  
"Looks like you're a little too slow to hit anything, Chump. I bet even the old guy could dodge your fire."  
  
Auron had just watched the whole scene, not adding anything to it, with a sardonic grin on his face. This was mildly entertaining. In terms of cockiness, the hedgehog had these two men beat by leaps and bounds. "I look forward to facing your young friend in the next round, Sonic. As I was just telling these two, before you interrupted us, Tails is brave beyond his years and should prove to be...adequate competition."  
  
Sonic darted back over to Auron and stood right next to him, leaning against his mid-section. "Oh, he'll be more than adequate, old man. He's got something that'll kick your butt any day of the week." Sonic darted back over to the entrance of the shop.  
  
"Anyway, I can't stick around you guys too long. Too much of a loser vibe in here. Chump, Clod. I'll be seeing you guys later." With a quick wave and a wink, Sonic was out the door in a flash.   
  
"Man, that hedgehog is annoying." Cloud said coldly. "Looks like someone is going to have to teach him some respect."  
  
Auron looked over at Cloud, still amused. "To him, what your were saying about his friend was an insult. You would react in a similar fashion if someone were speaking of Aeris or Sora the same way, wouldn't you?" And Cloud just nodded reluctantly, agreeing with Auron as the three men left the store to head towards the arena.  
  
----  
  
Tails awaited the match nervously in his locker room, alone. He was staring at something that looked like a vehicle under a large, gray sheet. It was the thing that he had built for this fight at Sonic's suggestion; the thing that he deeply hoped would work. He wasn't even sure if he really should use it… but seeing CATS use his machines the way he did, and Ratchet use his weapons, he figured it would be okay.  
  
Tails looked up as he heard footsteps walking into his room. It was Mega Man, someone who Tails had befriended in the days leading up to the tournament. Mega had also given Tails an invaluable hand in building this thing.   
  
"Hey, Tails, just wanted to say...uhh...good luck before your match! Hope this thing works out all right!" Tails responded with simple thanks and a goodbye as Mega Man hurriedly left to go to his seat. The match was only a few minutes away. From the sound of it, it seemed as if Mega Man doubted he could win this match at all.   
  
Come to think of it, Mega Man wasn't alone in that thought. Not many people thought Tails could win this match. Mega Man; even though he was a good friend and helped him with his invention, had always avoided the subject of predicting who would win. The only person that really believed in Tails was Sonic.   
  
That...that was more than enough for Tails. Just thinking about his best friend, his role model, made him swell with pride. Even if he didn't have a chance to win this match, he would still do his best and not give up, because that's what Sonic would do.

**The Battle**  
  
As they entered the arena, Auron surveyed his opponent. The little fox didn't appear very menacing, but the thing he rode certainly could be a threat. The vehicle was vaguely humanoid, with assorted weaponry on its arms and a huge cannon mounted in its belly.  
  
True to his word, the guardian had never been one to judge his opponents by their appearance. From behind his sunglasses, his eyes briefly sought out Yuna in the crowd. She had gamely agreed to come to this match, although she had still not recovered from losing Tidus again. He could read her face like a book: "Be careful of that machina, sir Auron."  
  
_The lady summoner still needs my support. I will not be forced from her again._  
  
Sonic and Knuckles were leaning over the wall at the bottom of the players' booth, the source of the loudest cheers for their friend Tails. "Let that loser know what he's in for!" yelled Knuckles.  
  
"Umm...You're dead meat, old man!" Tails called out to Auron as the crowd died down waiting for the match to start. The swordsman merely stared impassively as he raised his sword over his shoulder.  
  
The start of the fight was signaled, and Tails immediately fired a great blast from the laser cannon on his suit. Auron dove to the ground just in time, the beam leaving a huge scorched mark on the arena wall behind him. Tails wished he'd had the time to build a tracking mechanism for his weapons, and switched to a simpler tactic. He fired quick blast after blast in the direction of the guardian.  
  
Auron knew he wasn't swift enough to avoid Tails' fire, but perhaps he could withstand it. He rose and yelled as he charged into the incoming laser fire, raising his left arm to use his bracer for what protection it could provide.  
  
It wasn't enough. Beams ripped through his red cloak and brought the valiant guardian to his knees. He fell in the dirt, aware of Yuna's desperate "No!" above the cheers and boos of the crowd.  
  
"Woo-hoo! I think I got him!" shouted a triumphant Tails, turning to the players' booth. "Hey Sonic, what should I do now?"  
  
"Go to—Look out!" Auron was back on his feet, making a mad dash toward the rear of an unaware Tails. Tails spun his machine around just in time to see Auron take a leaping slash aimed right at the laser cannon.  
  
"You will hurt NO ONE!" he yelled as the blade struck the cannon. There was a bright flash, and weapons systems all over Tails' machine began to throw sparks. Tails fired a missile in response, but the projectile barely made it out of the launcher. It exploded with a feeble pop on the ground. Auron swung again, the piercing blade removing a robotic arm. His power break technique had evened the odds.  
  
"Yaaah!" yelped Tails. "Hey, wait. Two can play at that game!" A huge scissors extended from the remaining arm of Tails suit and clipped at the warrior. Had he still been a true guardian, he would have used the sleeve it removed and been without an arm. The irony was not lost on him. _Again, my transgression proves fortuitous._ Auron swung low, and this time sliced a leg off of the machine.  
  
"Whooooaa!" Tails cried as he desperately tried to balance his suit on one leg...and failed. He jerked one of its arms toward Auron and leaped from his seat as the remainder of it crashed down on the defending swordsman. Auron crawled from beneath the wreckage, to the astonishment of all. "Sheesh! How much of a beating can you take?" Tails grabbed a handful of the scrap metal lying around and leaped into the air, twirling his tails. He flew up, out of Auron's reach. "Nyah-nyah! Can't touch me!" he taunted as he pelted the guardian from above with parts from his wrecked suit. Auron simply allowed the debris to hit him as he bent over to pull something red from the wreckage.  
  
A rare anger was welling in the eyes of the exhausted Auron. He spun to face his attacker...and kept spinning, extending his katana. A whirling vortex extended from the clouds above and touched down in the arena. "Help!" wailed Tails as the winds whipped him around in the sky. He managed to get a hold of the top of the arena wall, and crawled back through the crowd to the field. Auron leaped on him, binding his tails together with the sleeve cut from his cloak as the tornado dissipated.  
  
Tails squirmed free, but his last advantage was lost to him—he didn't have time to undo the knot, and he couldn't fly! Well, maybe not his _last_ advantage. He took off at a run. "You can't run forever," called out Auron, and Tails knew he was right. He dashed full-speed at the guardian. At the last second, Auron stepped aside and extended his sword, edge to the ground. Tails tripped and skidded to a halt.  
  
Auron strode to the fox and pinned him to the ground with one boot. "Your time here is at an end. Go back whence you came." Tails looked to Sonic, who merely nodded glumly.  
  
Tails fled the arena, chased by jeers and a chant of "That's how it's done!" from the crowd. Auron, however, looked silently to a relieved Yuna. _I cannot make so many mistakes in my next fight._

****

**Aftermath**  
  
Auron returned to his locker room furious at his performance in the match. To others, unused to the true nature of Auron's emotions, it merely appeared as grumpy… But the anger was there. He had been careless, and he had reminded himself of Tidus and Jecht. So reckless...if he had just been focused he could have won without taking a scratch.  
  
"You know, after all that talk about respecting your opponent, and not underestimating him. You sure were caught off guard out there." said Raziel, appearing from within the shadows. "If you had learned to embrace your power you could have dispatched that foolish inventor without effort."  
  
Auron chuckled to himself. "Perhaps I was a hypocrite in this instance, but what I say is true. The victor here will be the one who learns to respect his competition."  
  
"Well, you can keep your respect and honor, I'll take the power and immortality." snarled Raziel, slinking back into the shadows and disappearing.  
  
Auron's mocking chuckle followed the nightwalker as he faded away… "Learn that lesson well for without it you have no chance against the likes of Sephiroth."  
  
----  
  
Tails glumly packed up all his stuff back at the hotel. After a month and a week he had been completely beaten in his first match. "Geez, just like last year. I always get beaten early and then have to go home while Sonic and Knuckles do really well."  
  
"Hey, don't worry Miles, that guy Auron was tough... for an old geezer." said Sonic's friendly voice from behind him. "You did really well."  
  
"Did I Sonic really, Sonic?" Tails asked hopefully.  
  
"I'm sure you'll come off looking like one of the best of the first round losers… I mean... Sorry. That didn't come out right."  
  
"It's okay, Sonic. Just get those guys back for me, will ya?"  
  
"No problem." Sonic winked at Tails, and then dashed out of his room.  
  
"I'm lucky to have a friend like Sonic." Tails said aloud as he finished packing up his stuff. He walked through the portal back to his own dimension with a smile on his face.


	18. Yoshi vs Conker

I'm really sorry for the long delay on this one, guys… I've been busy, and this one took a lot of editing. So bear with me, the rest of the fics will start coming up much faster.

Well… For the next ten days… And then I go on vacation…

But don't worry, alright? If you read and liked this story, it will reach its end, and you'll see it here on these pages.

Today's match is between Yoshi of Super Mario Bros. fame, and the most foulmouthed squirrel in the business, Conker. Furious J wrote the preshow, Seadragon76, in what was his final writing piece for the group before he was the first writer to leave us, wrote the match, and StopPokingMe wrote the aftermath.

This is also the match with perhaps more swearing than the entire rest of the first round of fics... Conker and Vercetti are in rare form.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Preshow**  
  
"Holy fucking shit! Jesus fucking Christ, it feels like someone hit me in the head with a fucking sledgehammer."

Conker, the most foulmouthed squirrel of them all, awoke the morning of his match with the mother of all hangovers. Finally awakened, he groggily tried to stumble his way to the bathroom so he could wash his face, hoping that some water would wake him up a bit. But only five steps from his bed to the seemingly far-off bathroom, he tripped over a body lying in the middle of his floor.  
  
"Jesus, my ribs!" said Tommy Vercetti, the owner of said body. "Why did you kick me in the fucking ribs?"  
  
"Sorry, Tommy, didn't see you there." mumbled the squirrel, still fumbling his way into the bathroom. The cold water on his face made him at least partially aware of his surroundings. "What the fuck did we do last night."  
  
"Damned if I know," mumbled the still groggy Tommy Vercetti.  
  
Conker thought back to the previous night and began to remember a few vague details. He and Tommy had gone to a local bar to get drunk. No one else had been willing to go with them, the fucking wusses. So it had just been the man and the squirrel, alone at the bar, drinking enough to kill a lesser man.

Suddenly, as Conker tried to piece together what had happened from the few things he remembered, there was a movement in the bathtub. Conker went into fight mode, pulled out one of his Uzi's and yanked open the shower curtain.

_No wait… There was one other bastard drinkin with me and Vercetti last night. Max Payne came too._ Sprawled out in front of the squirrel, unconscious in the bathtub, was Max Payne, the cop. Conker chuckled to himself, then turned the cold water on and walked out of the bathroom to hear a very loud yell behind him. When he got out of the bathroom, Tommy had managed to get himself upright. It was amazing how quickly Vercetti had recovered from how much he had drunk last night… He had even more alcohol in his veins than the incredibly hung over Conker, but he was hardly different from his regular self.

_Maybe the gangster's just drunk every fucking minute._   
  
"Was that that stupid cop loser?" Vercetti asked rubbing his head.  
  
"Yeah, but he's awake now." Conker said grinning.  
  
"I don't see why you invited him along anyway."   
  
"You can't do a good drinking game with just two, I wish Duke Nukem could've come, that would've made it awesome."  
  
"Do you think with scored with that chick he was chasin'?"  
  
"Nah, I've seen cavemen who are smoother with chicks than that guy."

As Tommy and Conker chatted amiably, their much more disgusted fellow drunk lurched out of the bathtub, over to where the squirrel and the mob boss stood and talked.  
  
"That was really fucking funny, Conker." said a drenched Max Payne.  
  
"Really? I thought it was, but I didn't think you would." Conker replied.  
  
"Anyway, don't you have a match in....-5 minutes?" said Max grinning.  
  
Conker looked at the clock. "Ah shit!"

**The Battle**  
  
_The Arena_  
  
Fans from all around the universe gathered inside the arena and waited for the next match of the tournament. Today, the announcer that had came and went for the first several bouts had returned for a match. The cute and loveable Yoshi was facing off against the foul and vulgar Conker.  
  
"Entering the arena, the helper of everybody's favorite plumber and the friendliest dinosaur you'll ever see...YOSHI!"  
  
Yoshi entered to a huge cheer. He was the favorite, in both the minds of the fans and of the odds makers, and he didn't want to disappoint. It was time to prove he wasn't just another dinosaur.  
  
"Entering the arena, the smacktalking squirrel who certainly ain't for kids....CONKER!"  
  
Conker entered with enough weapons to put Ratchet, KOS-MOS, and ten just like them to shame. He didn't care what Yoshi or anyone else thought, he was indeed a dirty minded, messed up squirrel. Tonight, it was gonna be Dino Steak on the menu for Conker the squirrel.  
  
A gong sounded in the upper reaches of the arena... the signal to begin. 

Yoshi was not one to wait for anyone else to make a move before he jumped out to the battle. As soon as the gong sounded, he grabbed one of the many eggs that had become his favorite weapon, and rolled it across the ground, straight at the heavily armed squirrel in front of him.

Conker was quite amused.

"What the fuck? What is this shit? You son of a bitch, you think you can beat me up with a fuckin' egg? What are ya gonna fuckin' do with it anyway? What's in the fuckin' egg?"

Conker was enjoying the eccentric antics of the dinosaur in front of him, but it was boring him very quickly. As Yoshi prepared the eggs that the dinosaur seemed so confidant in, Conker rifled through the substantial arsenal that he had brought with him, looking for something… anything… that could end this bore of a battle quickly. Conker just wanted to see some explodin' dinosaur.  
  
Through his exhaustive analysis of his weaponry, Conker was able to settle on a fairly simple object to do the job for him today. What the squirrel held in his hand wasn't anything fancy by any means. However, Conker was confident that it would get the job done against someone like Yoshi.

_The big guns I've got are wasted on this damn shrimp. I could take him out with my bare fucking hands, but this is quicker._

Conker pulled a simple hand grenade out of one of the many pockets on his black body armor, and held it up above his head, staring straight at his opponent. Ideally, this would have been the moment that Conker would have spouted off a one liner, and thrown the explosive grenade straight at the dinosaur in front of him. But Yoshi didn't give the squirrel a chance.

The egg that Yoshi had been preparing was ready. Holding it out before him, Yoshi jumped into the air, almost seeming to hover in the odd style of jump that he always employed, and tossed the egg straight at the slightly less smug squirrel in front of him.

Conker didn't have time to dodge. The egg whizzed straight at him, and broke all over his face. Not only could he not see in front of him with all the shards of egg on his face… That egg to the face had hurt like hell. Conker was as dizzy as he had been just a few hours ago, when he had woken up from one of the biggest hangovers of his life. So the fact that he had a grenade that was about to explode in his right hand temporarily left the squirrel's mind.

Luckily for the vulgar squirrel… A squeal of sorts from Yoshi brought him back to reality three seconds before the grenade exploded. Even then, though, there was only time to panic, toss the grenade as far away as possible, and yell one choice word.

"SHIT!!!!!!!!"

Luckily for Conker, the grenade exploded far enough away that it only slightly singed his fur… he wasn't blown to the crisp that he would have ended up as if he had held onto the grenade. But that didn't make the squirrel any less pissed off. Conker had a few choice words for the dinosaur that smirked in front of him.

"Fuck you!!!!"

Yoshi, sensing Conker's anger and sudden lack of confidence, attempted to finish the squirrel off like he had so many koopas back in the Mushroom Kingdom… But this time, all Yoshi was able to accomplish was simply licking the side of Conker's coat.

This didn't make the squirrel any happier.

"What the fuck are you doing? Are ya tryin to kiss me or somethin? So ya like kissin other men, you're…"

Conker's litany of most definitely politically incorrect insults came to an abrupt end when Yoshi's hard foot came in contact with the squirrel's head. Conker was wearing a helmet, as always… It went with the body armor. But the strength of the dinosaur made him feel the pain even through his protective gear, and the dizzy spells Conker was starting to live perpetually in returned again. But they subsided quickly this time around… The little squirrel was resilient.

Enraged now, Conker pulled out yet another grenade from his vast arsenal. He lobbed it at Yoshi, standing still in front of him, but Yoshi had a different idea than the "blow the little bitch up to fuckin' smithereens" plan that Conker was utilizing.

Yoshi, in another of his trademark moves, simply swallowed the hand grenade that was flying, set to explode, at his face. Almost instantaneously, the grenade reappeared to the arena at large… But now, it was encased one of the many eggs at Yoshi's side.

Yoshi smiled in an amazingly similar way to Conker's earlier smirk… and he lobbed the egg, ticking grenade inside, right back at Conker.

It occurred to Conker far too late what lay inside the egg flying at his face… Once he realized where his grenade had gone, or, more aptly, was going, he only had time for one reaction. And since he **was **Conker the squirrel…

**_"#&$%&#$%!!!!!!!!!!!"_**

**Aftermath**  
  
Yoshi, the victor, headed back to the locker room along with his constant companions, Mario and Luigi. On the rare occasions when the dinosaur wasn't eating, he could always be found with the veteran plumber and his brother.  
  
Mario pulled the other two inside and shut the door quickly before anyone from the throngs looking for an autograph could follow. The three were in high spirits after Yoshi's easy victory, one a bit too high. Yoshi staggered into the room and sat down heavily on a bench.  
  
The dinosaur almost always had a smile on his face, but this time it was even more pronounced, and his eyes somewhat unfocused. He fumbled with the laces trying to take off his boots.  
  
"You okay-a there, Yoshi?" asked Luigi as he took a seat next to Yoshi. Yoshi turned to him grinning and squeaked his unique Yoshi-call as he gave a thumbs-up sign.  
  
Mario walked over. "Okey-dokey guys, here's-a why I've-a got you here." Yoshi hiccupped. "Hey-a Yoshi, you aren't-a drunk-a, are you?" Yoshi shook his head vigorously and emitted another Yoshi-call, interrupted by a hiccup. The brothers shot the dinosaur skeptical looks, and after a moment, Yoshi rethought his response and nodded.   
  
"Uh-oh." Said Luigi. "You-a remember the last-a time-a this happened? At-a Toad's-a party?"  
  
"Poor-a Peach. It's-a too bad she had-a to be named after a fruit-a." Mario chuckled. He stopped suddenly and looked at Yoshi. "Mama mia! You didn't-a even eat-a Conker! All-a you did was-a lick him! What was he-a doing, rolling around in-a the 200-proof before-a the match?"  
  
"That's-a what it smelled-a like-a to me," said Luigi. "And-a we were on-a the other side of-a the stadium!"  
  
"Oh well. Just-a try to pay attention." Mario lowered his high-pitched voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "You've-a both seen-a the bracket, okay. I'm-a in-a the South, Luigi, you're-a in-a the North, and-a Yoshi's in-a the East. The way I-a see it, we get-a DK in on-a this, and-a we can sweep-a this whole-a thing!"  
  
"That's-a it?" asked his brother. "I could have-a told you that. But there's-a some pretty spicy lasagna between us and-a the final four-a."  
  
"That's-a why I've-a got a trick up-a my sleeve." Mario reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of flowers, mushrooms, stars, leaves and feathers. He divided them up among his companions. Luigi stuffed them away in his shirt. Yoshi simply gobbled them all up and laid several eggs.  
  
"I figured-a that-a wasn't you're only-a one you gave-a me before. What about-a you, Mario?" Luigi asked as they got ready to leave.  
  
"Don't-a worry. I won't-a be pushing up-a the daisies any-a time soon," Mario assured him. "Besides, I've-a got my own-a stash. You just-a see me if-a you run out."  
  
"Okay. Hey-a wait. What's-a that you say you're-a gonna do with-a Daisy? You better just-a stick with-a Peach!"  
  
Mario just hung his head and helped Yoshi steer himself out the door. 


	19. Bowser vs Ness

Today's battle is between Bowser, nemesis of Mario, and Ness, the young boy that saved the world in Earthbound. Writers were Furious J for the preshow, Dan Bonez for the match, and me for the aftermath.

------------------------------------------------------------

**Preshow**  
  
Ness was wasting time before his match in his locker room, playing with his yo-yo. It was finally his time to fight, although he would've preferred to settle this with a board game or something. Fighting was stupid, he didn't see what all the grown ups found so fun about it. He thought back to all the times when he had gotten a bunch of people to play baseball with him. _That was fun! Why can't we play baseball instead of fighting?_

His train of thought was interrupted by Mario walking into his locker room. The fat plumber looked around and finally spotted Ness in the corner, the yo-yo still flying through the air. "Oh, hey-a kid, I was-a looking for-a you."  
  
"What do you want?" Ness said eagerly, hoping Mario had come to entertain him for the time between now and his match. It had been boring, just sitting here and waiting.  
  
"Hey, I just came-a to warn you about-a Bowser."  
  
"Oh," Ness said, disappointed. Another grown-up was telling him to be careful. The most annoying thing about the last few days had been the continuous flow of almost everyone in the entire contest stopping by to tell Ness to be careful, that Bowser was a big scary guy, and that if he didn't watch himself he might get hurt.  
  
"Listen, I-a know you-a have-a been getting lotsa warnings from-a the other contestants. But-a no one knows-a Bowser like I-a do. He's-a completely-a ruthless, he wouldn't think-a twice-a about-a killing a kid-a even of your age."  
  
"It's alright Mario. I've fought lots of big mean scary guys before, I'll be alright."  
  
"I hope-a so."  
  
----  
  
"FWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" roared Bowser in his locker room. "They're having me fight a kid, a kid with a baseball bat and a yoyo! FWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! I might as well be fighting a big steak! Everything is working out just as I planned, Wario will take out Mario, Squall will take out Luigi, and I will take out Yoshi! Perfect. If you can't beat 'em, cheat 'em. Thats what I say. FWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!"   
  
_This really was quite ingenious, Bowser… Gwahahaha!_ When he had realized all his opponents would be in this contest at the same time, he had seen his opportunity. He would use this contests possible casualty clause to eliminate his enemies. He knew he couldn't do it alone, but he figured he could get other people to do parts of his dirty work. _If Wario uses that weapon I gave him, properly, Mario won't be able to last against the stronger contestants. I can take that silly green dinosaur out myself. Now if I can just make sure Squall kills Luigi, I'll be set._   
  
"FWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!" Bowser roared again as he went off for his match.

**The Battle**  
  
Ness stared across the arena at his competition...the King of the Koopas, the malicious Bowser. Any other boy Ness's age would be intimidated by this sight, even so scared as to wet their shorts, but not Ness. Ness had dealt with worse before. This time was different though. He did not have the aid of his three other companions as he did when he fought the evil space alien, Giygas, and saved the Earth from his invasion. This time it was all about Ness...and the young boy from Onett planned to prove himself worthy.   
  
He shifted his cap backwards, just as he liked to wear it, and gripped his Home Run bat, his weapon of choice. Ness looked up towards the stands and saw his three friends, Paula, Jeff, and Poo...cheering him on. Before he knew it, the bell rang, and the match was on.  
  
Ness shifted in his stance, becoming more defensive and raising his bat in front of him. To his surprise though, Bowser didn't charge him. Instead, Bowser was turned around and talking to someone in the audience.  
  
"Peach! If I beat this kid in under two minutes, how about you marry me?"  
  
Ness just shook his head. _What a buffoon. I don't usually do this kind of thing...but on this freak, I'll make an exception_. "Teleport..." Ness muttered under his breath so Bowser wouldn't hear, and he began to spin furiously. Then he was gone and instantly standing in front of Bowser.  
  
"One way or another Peach I-"  
  
Before Bowser could finish, Ness swung his bat like a golf club, the end hitting right on Bowser's manhood. Bowser's eyes got big and bulgy and began to tear up, while every man in the audience winced and let a collective "Oooooooooo...". Seeing Bowser's face, Ness felt a little, just a little, bit of guilt. _Cheap shots aren't my usual style, but this guy is about as low as they get. Might as well get one in. _  
  
From the looks of things, Bowser quickly recovered...and he was none too happy. Ness backed away a little, but glanced over at Peach, who was giggling madly in the stands.   
  
"NO ONE DOES THAT TO ME! You've really ticked me off now! OHOHOHO!"  
  
Bowser started a mad charge towards Ness. Ness rolled out of the way of the charging dinosaur's feet...Bowser turned around quickly, surprising Ness. Fire blasted from his mouth and just in the nick of time, Ness blurted out "SHIELD!" The fire rolled off of the invisible wall that was created in front of Ness.  
  
"Ooooo, so the boy wants to use magic tricks, HUH?! I can play that game! MWAHAHAHAHA! TERRORIZE!"  
  
Ness was confused, but suddenly the whole arena got a shade darker. Ness could barely see Bowser but he knew enough to back away from the beastly tortoise. What Ness didn't see was the Giant Boo sneaking up behind him. Just as the Boo was about to take a bite out of him, Ness felt a slight twinge on the back of his neck that. This, and the fact that the whole audience was screaming in fright, alerted him to the Boo's presence. When he turned around the Boo's face turned pink and the round white ghost covered up it's eyes with it's little ghostly arms.   
  
"AHHH Shoot! Why do I even bother!"  
  
The Boo disappeared and the arena returned to its normal lighting. Ness just shook his head. _Amateur_. Ness yelled out something else. "PSI FLASH!" A burst of light ignited in front of Bowser, leaving him blind and dizzy. He ran around in a mad stupor, apparently attempting to charge Ness.  
  
Ness ran over behind him and shouted out something else. "PSI ROCKIN'!" A burst of energy flew straight at Bowser and hit him square in the back. It was so powerful it sent the reptile flying into the arena wall, headfirst. His head went crashing through. _That should do it. _  
  
To Ness's surprise, the Koopa King seemed to recover rather quickly from this. He just got up, turned around, shook some of the remaining wall from his head, and showed off a mouthful of teeth. _How the heck!? That was my strongest attack!_  
  
"BWAHAAHAHAHAHAHA. Your magic tickles! Is that all you've got? Yes? Then it's time for you to feel the pain, boy!"  
  
Bowser leapt high in the air, and was about to come crashing down at Ness. "PK THUNDER" was Ness's response as lightning struck him and he sent himself flying towards Bowser. The attack didn't work however, as he just got caught in Bowser's fall.. and when Bowser landed, Ness was driven into the ground.  
  
"I think I'll be having JAM with my TOAST! GAHAHAHAHA! JAM! TOAST! I should be a stand up comedian!"  
  
The crowd didn't seem to think so as they booed him relentlessly. Ness, trapped under the bulk of the lizard, yelled out "TELEPORT" again and found himself standing a few yards away from Bowser now. He hunched over and held his side. One of his ribs might have been broken.   
  
"Where'd h-...how the!?"  
  
Bowser looked confused only for a moment. Again, Ness founded himself being charged again by that huge green form. He didn't know if he could muster up enough energy for another attack. "PSI ROCKIN'," he yelled out again, sending the same burst of energy. This time, Bowser seemed ready for it, as he quickly got inside of his shell, deflecting the attack.   
  
Ness didn't anticipate Bowser's spikey shell to be still spinning towards him. The shell struck him and he went flying across the arena and slammed back first right into the arena wall. Bowser emerged from his shell and continued his pursuit of the boy. Before Ness could even move, Bowser was on him again. _Crud!_ Ness tried to lift his bat and swing, but Bowser grabbed it before he could and took a bite out of it, snapping it in two. Bowser grabbed Ness by the collar of his shirt and tossed him just like a rag doll into the center of the arena.  
  
"HA! Too easy. I thought you would be able to put up a fight. Well, it looks like your FRIED!"  
  
Bowser opened his mouth and a jet of flame emerged that flew right at Ness. Before Ness could react, he was engulfed in the flames. It seared at his skin and burned away some of his clothing. When the flames stopped, he lay motionless on the ground, with the best still taking large steps towards him. Bowser picked up the boy with one hand and looked him over.   
  
"Hmmm...TASTY!"  
  
And in an action that appalled everyone in the arena, Bowser swallowed the boy whole, and patted his belly proudly.  
  
"Maybe a little too well done for my liking! BWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHA!"  
  
"NOOO! How could you!" It was Ness's friends, Paula, Jeff, and Poo who charged from their place in the stands towards the big reptilian who had just consumed their best friend.   
  
"How could you do that to Ness?!" screamed Paula, who looked flustered, a mix of sadness and rage. Jeff was trying to hold Poo back from attacking the beast.  
  
"How could I do it? Because I was HUNGRY! That's how! GAHAHAHAHAHAA! Simpleton!" And Bowser just turned, showing the three his tail, and he walked out of the arena as he was announced the winner.

**Aftermath**  
  
Mario still sat in his seat, aghast, as he stared down upon the stadium. Remnants of flame still blackened the ground from the beating that all had witnessed Bowser put down upon the boy, Ness. 

It had been an hour since the match, but many of the contestants still sat in the stadium, remembering what had just happened in, for the most part, sadness. It hadn't been a pleasant match to watch. For one, the fan favorite lost... Besides a dozen or so Boos in the stands, not too many people had been rooting for the Koopa King. But crowd or not, Bowser had won. Ness may not have been anyone's closest friend in the competition... But that's not to say that no one would miss him. Ness was a breath of fresh air to the contestants... While everyone trained, Ness just tried to have fun.   
  
Maybe that had hurt him. But whether it hurt him or not, the games and diversions that Ness had produced were welcomed by the other players... The baseball games that Ness initiated had become something of a daily ritual by now. Even Solid Snake, renowned for his training ethic, had participated in a few.  
  
Ness would be missed. Bowser would not have been missed.

The turtle was simply an annoyance. Almost anyone that the koopa or the insane clown met while roaming the grounds would leave with fists clenched after some sort of childish taunt. Ness's contributions to the village were of the carefree nature the kid had embodied… Bowser's had been all from the inherent nature that he was, in fact, a mere bully.   
  
And to Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi, who had gathered after the match, Bowser was worrying.  
  
After Mario had done so well in the tournament last year, Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi all expected it to be a walk in the park for them. So far, it had… The vulgar squirrel had proven to be all talk, and Ratchet's considerable array of weaponry had been nothing. But especially for Yoshi, one obstacle now stood in the way, and worried them to no end.   
  
Bowser. The same koopa that had been a worthy adversary for Mario and his friends so many times in past adventures.  
  
Yoshi had fought Bowser before... But that was when the two were far younger. Baby Bowser had been in a whole different leagues… The strength and ability to breath flame that Bowser now possessed had not yet developed long ago, when Bowser first rose up as an enemy with the potential to wreck havoc upon the Mushroom Kingdom.   
  
Both Yoshi and Bowser had grown up into their own now. It would be quite a fight.


	20. Sora vs Aeris

I apologize that it has been so long since updates. Hopefully there are still readers out there that are interested.

In any case, the writers for this fic are me for the interlude and the match itself, and frequent guest writer Jjukil for the preshow and the aftermath. This pits Sora, main character of Kingdom Hearts, against Aeris, heroine of Final Fantasy VII.

**Interlude**

Fox McCloud lounged at the door of the training center, arms crossed against his chest, and a odd hat with twin holes that allowed his ears to poke out pulled down to shield his eyes from the sun.

There wasn't really anything Fox felt like doing anymore, apart from just sitting around and counting the days. He hadn't been training for a while. Yes, he did have a month before his next match, and he felt that he should take a break, but that wasn't the real reason he had stopped his preparation. As strong willed as Fox had proven that he was in his battle with Andross, sometimes, will power just runs out. Fox just didn't see the point of overexerting himself to prepare for a match in which he had no chance to win.

He didn't like that this attitude of resignation had come over him, but deep down, Fox knew that his fears were true. His blaster and quarterstaff could not beat Link of Hyrule. The defending champ wasn't invincible, of course... But Fox just couldn't see how he could defeat Link with the weapons and battle tactics he possessed. The fact that Link had never lost a match in the arena only made Fox's prospects for victory more harrowing.

Simply put, Fox McCloud was in despair.

It was not, however,a despair that would last forever. Fox had given up on himself, but there were still other fighters that held great hope for the Cornerian pilot…

"Just sitting around, boy?"

Fox turned in surprise. Fox hadn't noticed anyone approaching, and very few people could sneak up on the very wary pilot. However, Fox was hardly surprised to see that the man who had eluded his notice was the holder of the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf. The Gerudo was, after all, quite accustomed to dwelling in the shadows, both metaphorically and literally…

Ganondorf was quite heartened by the victory he had achieved earlier in the month. The Gerudo had never doubted his own strength, of course, but the events surrounding his victory had been quite gratifying. He had killed a worthless boy, and thus saddened and disconcerted many of his fellow fighters. It was all in a day's evil work for the warlock.

So he had been walking around with great pomp and confidence of late. Being cautious just didn't suit the self-proclaimed king of evil.

_And I'm not being cautious now,_ Ganondorf thought. _Just... Doing some damage control._

Past experience had told the Gerudo warlock that he might not be able to fight off Link, wielder of the Master Sword. Link had bested Ganon's powers far too many times for the villain to ever be fully confident in fighting Link again.

_And if I cannot do it,_ Ganondorf theorized, _Then someone else will have to. It is hardly beneath me to use this silly rivals of mine to fulfill a little task for me._

Ganondorf did not like the acts of forming alliances with people, helping them in any way. He viewed such acts as beneath him. When it came to Link, however, the warlock's good sense won out over his ego. Link... Worried him. And he hated to admit it.

Fox took a slight step back from the man before him. Ganondorf was a man disliked by all of the tournament players since the brutal actions he had taken in the course of his fight with Tidus. Even Bowser and Wario were wary of the kind of evil that seemed to radiate from Ganondorf's being. Fox was hardly keen to associate with him.

"Don't worry. If I wanted to hurt you, McCloud, you'd already be dead on the floor." An almost feral grin accompanied this statement. Given a choice between using Fox to fulfill an end and destroying the pathetic animal, Ganon would certainly still rather kill him. But the rules of this place expressly forbid deaths outside the arena. Ganondorf would have to settle on his other option.

Fox steadied himself, and set his face in a cold frown.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing but to help you."

Fox raised his eyebrows. Something didn't smell right here. Someone renowned for his great evil didn't do people favors. But hope was starting to spring inside him. Against his better judgments, a side of Fox was very interested in learning what he could learn from a man as knowledgeable as Ganon… Even if that same man was an evil tyrant.

Ganondorf had successfully lured Fox in.

"As I see it, McCloud, you have a tough match ahead of you. And if you lose, I have to face Link... And that's not something I want to do. So therefore, you have to win."

"You'd rather face someone who could beat Link?"

"Of course. I'd utterly destroy you."

"…Then why should I take your help?"

"You will not defeat Link without the things that I can teach you. You know that, I know that."

Fox McCloud stared suspiciously back at the confident, smirking man before him. He still didn't trust the warlock. Ganondorf was pure evil. Everyone knew it. Everyone avoided him.

All the same, Fox McCloud had always been a competitive person.

So, an alliance formed. Ganondorf would teach Fox McCloud all the tricks that could be used to beat Link. And then, Ganondorf hoped, the protégé would fall. It was such an easy way to use people.

**Preshow**

Blade rang against staff again and again as he pressed his attack. He wasn't the fastest swordsman around, but his attacks were powerful and far from slow, and she was having a hard time keeping up with him. He finished with a feint to the legs, then an unusually savage downward chop that left even the audience with raised eyebrows. She scrambled away, but couldn't completely avoid the hit, and she fell to the floor with a yelp as he struck her calf.

But when she looked back, she discovered the hit had taken its toll on him as well. The awkward attack hadn't hit the way he expected, and it left him so off-balance he had nearly fallen over. She was actually much more proficient in magic than melee combat; now she had a perfect chance to hit him with a spell, then recover herself.

But she just couldn't do it.  
And he knew she wouldn't.

After he managed to get back to his feet, he looked back at her just in time to see her finishing off a healing spell. He growled and started to go back into his stance...but then sighed and dropped out of it.

"Aeris, please," he complained, putting away the Keyblade. "I was wide open!"

Aeris shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sora," she sighed as she got to her feet. They had trained for their match mostly by sparring with each other, and they had done so many times as the month and a half had gone by. They had picked up the pace after the tournament started...mostly at Sora's insistance. "I know you've wanted to train for this seriously, and I know it must be frustrating...but...."

"You can't overextend yourself like that," said their sole onlooker.

Both fighters turned to him in shock.

"Wha...what do you mean, Cloud?" Sora said.

"You're too brash. Reckless," he continued, barely believing he was saying the words. "Don't take risks until you don't have a choice. Otherwise the enemy won't have a chance to beat you--you'll lose to your own mistakes."

Sora nodded, feeling sick. Cloud had come to almost all of these sparring sessions, but he had never said a word. In the end, though, both fighters knew who he was pulling for. The fact that he had given Sora advice anyway didn't make him feel good at all about his chances.

"Well," Aeris started, "I don't really HAVE to pick away at Sora's every weakness, do I...?"

"Yes!" Cloud and Sora said at once.

They looked at each other for a second. Then Cloud smirked and nodded his head, letting Sora have the floor.

"Aeris, I _do_ want you to pick at my weaknesses. Hit me with everything you've got! How could I be ready for the next round if you didn't?" he explained.

"...I guess you've got a point there," she admitted.

"I'm not going to beat up one of my best friends here just so I can lose to some dumb cyborg in Round 2," he grumbled. Aeris smiled weakly at that. "So please...DON'T hold back. Okay, Aeris?"

"...okay, Sora," she agreed, finally understanding him. "I won't hold back." She gave him her warmest smile; as usual, Sora couldn't help grinning back.

**The Battle**

As they stepped into the arena, Aeris Gainsborough still had mixed feelings about this. Certainly, the Cetra was happy to be out there competing, here again the tourney where she had made the sweet 16 last year. It wasn't as if Aeris's other state of existence was preferable to spending time with her friends, even if the world around the arena could be a bit intense. But... She wasn't happy at who she was fighting.

She still wasn't going Sora win. The young keyblade wielder had approached Aeris before the match, and asked that she not spare any of her energy to give him an edge. So she wouldn't. In truth, both Aeris and Sora were almost inclined to just let their opponent triumph, to give glory to a good friend. Both contestants had offered at least once to simply forfeit the battle to their opponent. Neither had accepted the offer, though, so it looked like it would be yet another fair, all-out melee in the arena today.

That wasn't to say that either fighter did not possess a very heavy heart.

Aeris and Sora simply stared at each other, waiting. They didn't hear the annoucer saying their names, and introducing the match. It didn't matter to them. They didn't even need to say anything to each other… It was clear from the looks on their faces what they were thinking, even seconds before they fought each other.

_I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this._

But they did hear the one word that would start the match, however they tried to ignore it.

"GO!!!!!"

At those words, the fight began. Aeris held her staff right out in front of her, in a position that appeared to be defensive in nature. She obviously did not intend to make the first move, merely allowing Sora to go on the attack… Or did she?

Slowly, the Ancient started to spin her staff around. The motion wasn't even enough that it would be noticeable to all the onlookers in the stands. But it was important.

In case Sora got the better of her, and actually hurt her badly... She had a little magic. Not exactly being a fighter accustomed to one-on-one duels, Aeris feared that she might need it.

----

Unbeknowst to Aeris, however, the magic might be in fact unneeded.

Even after all the agony that the two friends had been through before the match, all the efforts from both sides pleading for a fair match, Sora wasn't sure if he wanted to go for the win. Certainly, Aeris was much more into the battle today than the boy from Destiny Islands was, even if she did not know it. Sora had really come here only because he had wanted to see those that were lost to him. He only wanted to see his friends again, and perhaps stop the loneliness he had felt ever since the destruction of the Heartless. The Magical Kingdom where Sora lived, while nice, was not the place the boy wanted to spend his days. Sora wanted to be with Riku, and especially Kairi, again.

No luck. He'd been feeling down and unwanted from the moment he stepped into the contest's dimension. Sure, Squall, Aeris, and Cloud were here... But they hadn't been his true friends. They were only his guides and guardians in the battle against the Heartless.

Sora wasn't sure if he wanted to try in this whole match.

But his competitive spirit got the better of him. He would fight.

----

Sora made the first move… Or so he thought. He had totally missed the spell that was being cast before him… Aeris had already completed her work of magic. She was at an advantage from the very beginning.

Holding up his Keyblade in his right hand, Sora rushed at Aeris as quickly as he could. He swung his blade at Aeris's shoulder as fast and powerfully as he could. But she blocked it. The two attacked and parried for a few minutes, keyblade against staff. Though Sora was the swordsman, he didn't have the upper hand.

_Geez… I've beaten Riku, I've beaten Ansem, and I don't even have better swordsmanship than Aeris today? What's wrong with me!_

The match appeared even. In brawn and weapons, neither Aeris nor Sora had the power to defeat the other. It looked like it would come down to magic.

While he was more apprehensive this time, Sora was again impulsive enough to attack first. Bringing up his Keyblade to a position of sorcery, he launched a powerful wave of fire at the girl in front of him.

It simply bounced off, and Sora had to lunge to the side of where he was standing to avoid being hit be a ray of fire. It took him a few seconds to recover, and by the time he was on his feet again, Aeris had her barrier restrengthed. Aeris's ace in the hole had worked brilliantly, and now she was advancing on Sora, muttering words of magic herself.

Sora gritted his teeth as he rose up again, dashing at Aeris himself. He had forsaken magic now, and was simply content to try again with his keyblade.

He never did reach Aeris, however.

Smiling, Aeris shouted out the final words of an incantation, and then lunged to her left, catching a dashing Sora off guard. Sora simply swept past her, still swinging his sword. While the boy cursed his luck as he tried to bring his momentum to a stop, he was totally oblivious to the black clouds gathering above his head.

A lightning bolt hit Sora, suddenly. The boy winced, but he seemed unharmed. He turned his face to Aeris, smiling as if to say "That all you can do?"

It wasn't.

The black clouds were still above Sora's head, their work hardly done just yet. A lightning bolt abruptly hit Sora again, as the look on his face turned to shock. He was only able to stagger one more step before five more lightning bolts hit him in rapid succession. A wince crept over his face, and before the boy could move another step, all the volts of electricity caught up with him. Sora slumped to the ground, knocked unconscious.

Aeris had won. The corner of her eye wandered to the stands, and saw Cloud, with a faint smile on his face. The mercenary flashed a quick "thumbs up" signal to her, clearly happy at her victory.

…But suddenly she looked back at Sora's face again, as pangs of sorrow shot through her. While she was through to the next round, she still wasn't sure if this was a victory she had truly wanted.

**Aftermath**

"...I really am sorry, Sora," Aeris said, again, as they reached the portals home.

Sora shook his head and sighed. She had apologized to him at least a dozen times since he had woken up. He'd tried telling her it was okay, that it was his fault anyway for not reacting to her magic. But it was no use. He was about ready to tell her she was making him feel worse...but he was only a few steps away from home, now.

"It's okay, Aeris. Really," he chuckled. "I've learned a lot while I was here, and I'm sure it'll come in handy." She nodded sadly.

"Well, good luck in the rest of the tournament!" Sora said. "I know you'll do great against those other guys."

"Thank you!" she beamed. "Good luck to you, too, Sora. I hope we see each other again soon." They hugged each other goodbye, and then he left.

She shed a tear as she turned away from the portal...but she didn't have long to grieve, as she heard a loud groan coming from around the corner.

"Who's there?" she asked. She only got another wail in response. The voice was gruff and very loud...but she was still shocked when she rounded the corner and saw its owner.

"Bowser??" she said, staring at him with wide eyes.

"OWWWWwww...I don't feel so good," the King of the Koopas moaned, holding his stomach and rolling around on the floor. Then he looked up at her. "Aeris! You're...Aeris, right? You know those Cure spells like the other magicians, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," she said, her concern overriding her disgust for the savage turtle.

"Oh, good...I really need one," he groaned. "...cause after listening to you two idiots fawn all over each other, I'm about to throw up!!"

Aeris sighed and shook her head as Bowser laughed at his own joke.

"I don't think I've ever heard anything more sickening in my life!" he continued, getting to his feet. "'OHHHH, Sora, I'm _sooo_ sorry!' 'OHHHH, Aeris, I'll miss you _sooo much!!_' 'OHHHH, Sora--I love you!!!' HA! Hey, forget that Cure--you got a spell called 'Barf Bag'? Cause that's all that'll help me now! you tell me something?" she asked calmly. He didn't answer right away--he was too busy laughing--so she asked anyway. "Why did you eat Ness?"

He grinned. "Oh, the kid with the bat? Like I said--because I was hungry, you maroon!" He started laughing all over again...then abruptly stopped. "Too bad some _idiot_ reminded the medical ward they had to send him home...."

Aeris smiled. "I remember that. They pumped your stomach, right?" She couldn't help chuckling a couple of times.

"IT WAS YOU, WASN'T IT??" Bowser roared. "I'll get you for this!!" He rushed her right there in a rage, but she easily avoided the clumsy charge. As he pried himself out of the wall, she cast Planet Protector on herself, still feeling the effects of her battle with Sora. She finished the Limit Break mere seconds before Bowser's paw smacked her head--with enough force to take it off.

"Graah...invincibility," he grumbled, shaking his hand. "It's Mario all over again..."

"I'm sorry I laughed at you, Bowser," she said, "but that really was an awful thing to do. You should be nicer next time." She started away from him before he could respond. "Good luck against Yoshi and Cloud!" she said, smiling and waving. Then she walked back down the hall, humming to herself.

"...what a lunatic," Bowser muttered. Then he grinned. "I think I'm in love...."

**Fin**

Next update, it's a battle between Golden Sun swordsman Felix and the biggest rising star in gaming, Master Chief. See you then.


	21. Master Chief vs Felix

I told you updates would be more frequent.

Without further ado… Master Chief vs. Felix. Credit to guest authors Killer Wasp and Cromage for the preshow, Furious J for the match itself, and Funkadelict, in his first fic of the project, for the aftermath.

**Preshow**

Once again, Master Chief could be heard panting heavily inside the weight room. He really had nowhere else to go. Master Chief wasn't big on conversation, and the rumors he'd heard of the rivalries between the many dimensions of people gathered for this tourney made Master Chief even less communicative. The only two characters who shared Master Chief's fighting style, and, to some degree, his world, Sam Fisher and Max Payne, were either in the infirmary or already gone.

The best doctors nearby had set up an infirmary right next to the village in order to help with injuries sustained during battles. Sam Fisher had been already eliminated from competition, and Max Payne was supposedly in there with a hangover. Personally, though, Master Chief figured he and Vercetti were probably just in there to hit on the nurses. The corrupt cop and criminal combo seemed very strange to Master Chief, but then again, so did the many other sights he had seen at the village.

_I bet that nurse doesn't even know how to take care of humans,_ thought Master Chief, before being interrupted by another voice in his head.

"That was your best workout yet," said Cortana, the AI implanted in Master Chief's suit.

"You always say that. Anyway, did you find anything yet on that Felix guy?" answered the Chief.

"I found his picture and I'm guessing he's a swordsman, not a cat. He's a minority like you. Him and that Isaac are from the land of the Golden Sun… or something like that."

Master Chief began to think to himself again. _So I'm going into a battle with someone who I know nothing about. I knew nothing about the Flood and defeated them, so why should what I know about Felix make a difference? This guy is a swordsman, okay; but least he's not a psychic. I've fought enemies with swords before. Piece of cake! Still there has to be someone who knows about this guy. Maybe that KOS-MOS would know? She seemed smart and she was good with numbers so maybe I can get the odds for victory, too. And-_

"HEY! I'm good with numbers," shouted Cortana.

"Next time, tell me when you're going to read my thoughts," retorted MC.

"Well, you stopped talking and I got bored."

"Give me a warning next time... So, what are my odds of winning?"

"From what I know about this guy, I say you have a 53 chance of winning with a /- margin of error of 2."

"I can live with that, as long as he's not Link with that sword."

"What are you talking about? You could crush Link. He's never been surrounded by Elites before. I bet he couldn't even slice and dice a Grunt. I'm telling you- "

Master Chief let Cortana ramble on. She liked to talk and he had learned to ignore the crazy parts. Suddenly, someone walked into the weight room that made Chief realize that Cortana had to quiet herself now.

"Shut up, Cortana!"

"Why? Oh!"

There he was in all his glory the defending champion of the tournament, Link. Master Chief rose, to salute him like he had done to Captain Keyes and what he would continue to do to any great hero.

"Uh, you don't have to do that," said Link, with a strange look on his face. "Have you seen Zelda anywhere? I heard she was in here earlier?"

The Chief continued his salute as he answered, "Yes sir, she left about an hour ago to her locker room. I believe to get herself ready for tonight's battle."

"Thanks." Link started to head out the other exit of the gym as Master Chief watched. "Oh, wait. You're in that battle tonight. Aren't you? Good luck!" And with that he was gone.

Once again Master Chief went into deep thought, without noticing the door that had just opened behind him. "Did he just say good luck? Maybe this rivalry and ill-will towards my land was just a myth or maybe my land and his land all have some obnoxious fans." Either way Master Chief was gaining more and more respect for his opponents in this tournament.

Cortana finally spoke, "He doesn't look so tough!"

Once again, Master Chief ignored her voice, but suddenly heard another voice behind him.

"Hey, Samus babe, you want to sit together tonight while we watch those two idiots pound each other in the ring?"

The chief whipped around to face the obnoxious mug of Duke Nukem. "Wait, you're not Samus. Hmm, hold on... Is there a girl in this suit too? C'mon let me see what you got?"

"No" answered Master Chief's booming voice which was enough to set Nukem into a rage.

"I swear I heard a woman's voice coming from you. What the hell? It's this ing lighting."

Master Chief walked past Nukem as he continued to curse the lighting on his way out of the locker room.

"So, where to, Chief?"

"I don't know, Cortana."

"Well, lemme see what you're thinking. Okay, so you want to ask a few more fighters if they know who Felix is and than you want to return to the locker rooms to prepare for your match."

The Chief only nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. Except if one more person tells me Felix is a cat. I might blow my circuits. It's driving me insane. I'll tell you what I'm going to do to the next person who says that about Fel-"

It was time for Master Chief to start ignoring Cortana again. Instead, it was time for him to focus on the match ahead of him. He was ready!

----

_Felix's locker room _

Ironic... that I face a similar match today as the one that defeated Isaac... Felix shook his head. To a swordsman of the medieval age, Samus and Master Chief were the same in all but gender. And Felix was experienced enough to know that in such competitions, gender was meaningless. There were differences, no doubt, but Felix could not see them.

_Isaac was careless... that is why he was defeated._ He tried to keep thinking that way. Otherwise, it was quite depressing. To be true, the other Earth adept did not know what he was up against, and his opponent's alien moves had confounded him from the first.

Felix did not intend on making the same mistake.

"So, almost ready, Felix?"

He turned around to see Jenna standing there, smiling. _Ever optimistic..._ Felix returned his sister's grin.

"Sheba and the others are with Isaac in the stands," she continued. His external wounds had been healed, but his pride still hurt, and all of his friends clung to him, trying fruitlessly to cheer him up. If it hadn't been for Felix's match, Isaac would have been quite loath to return to this place.

Felix nodded. "I'm just about ready." _Nothing to do but leave it to fate._

----

_The Master Chief's locker room_

Silent and deadly as ever, the soldier known as Master Chief made his preparations. _Shield, optimal. Grenades, check. Rocket launcher, check._ He was up against a "magic" user, as foreign a concept to him as his own world was to Felix. Which meant that much of the fight would depend on lucky guesses and non-standard stratagem. Both his AND his opponent's.

He, too, had observed Samus' fight--but he had also seen Sam's. _My best bet is to finish this quickly..._ Unknown threats were always as dangerous as the known, as his experience with the Flood had proven. But ultimately, the kid would see just how dangerous _he_ could be.

Across the room, Solid Snake yawned. He still had over a week until his own match. And the Spartan was not very good company. Any attempts at conversation were brushed off or ignored by the helmeted soldier. _Cool as an ice block. And just about as impenetrable._

The matches that involved guns always caught Snake's attention--they showed how HE might fare. Even though the other's weaponry was definitely superior, it didn't hurt to see the Chief's performance. _Although,_ thought Snake, _My first match is practically in the bag._ Raiden came from his own world. Not much should hinder him there.

Abruptly, Master Chief straightened. He was ready. No sign of emotion showed beneath his opaque helmet. Nervousness, fear... it was if he did not feel it, thought Snake. As if his genetic alterations protected him from that, too.

He nodded his head. "Good luck."

Master Chief nodded back and strode out the door. He had a match to win.

**The Battle**

Master Chief was slowly walking towards the arena. Cortana was giving him a last minute run down of the specs of his opponent Felix.

"This is just you standard dash and slash sword user, Chief, you really shouldn't have to work to hard to take him out. He should be way less tougher than the covenant you had to battle on Halo"

"You're wrong Cortana. This guy has magic, that's new territory. We can't underestimate him."

"Well, it's good that you aren't, I guess. Oh well, just take care out there Chief…"

"Thanks, Cortana."

He entered the arena, his opponent Felix was standing at the opposite gate leaning against the wall. When he saw Master Chief he got up and moved towards the center. The crowd was in an uproar as always. People placed bets on who they thought would win and argued about who the better fighter was, but they soon quieted down as the two neared the center.

"Good luck, Felix," Master Chief said, sticking out his hand for a shake. He received neither response nor handshake. Felix merely drew his blade and readied himself.

The bell rang out across the stadium, and Felix immediately dashed towards Master Chief. He closed the distance too fast for Master Chief to ready his shotgun in time. Before he could get out a shot, the weapon was sliced in two. Master Chief was stunned. _Christ, he's fast,_ the Chief thought, but he could not afford to think long as Felix leaped into the air, preparing to do the same thing to the Master Chief as he had done to his shotgun. _Crap!_ Thought the Chief, barely strafing to the left in time to avoid the blow.

Felix remained on the offensive running to catch up with the green clad Marine. He was faster then him and caught up quickly. _Game Over,_ the swordsman thought to himself as he prepared to finish the match. But to his surprise, Master Chief stopped, spun around, and swung the lower half of his shotgun, which he was still carrying, right at Felix's head. Felix, who was running too fast to stop, received the blow full force right in the temple. Felix flew backward, hitting the ground hard and skidding to a stop.

Felix rose to his feet, rubbing his head. _That fool Isaac most likely would've been killed by that,_ he thought to himself, pondering of Isaac's pitiful performance against Samus.

click

Felix spun around to see Master Chief about 30 feet away pointing his assault rifle right at him. Master Chief chuckled and then said aloud, "It'd be more fun for me if you ran." Felix didn't need a second warning. He burst off running with the fire from the assault rifle trailing closely behind him.

Felix was able to dodge all of Master Chief's fire, but he knew he couldn't keep it up for long. Suddenly he felt a burst of pain as a bullet penetrated his left leg. Felix tripped and skidded along the ground once again. He got up only to find himself looking right down the barrel of Master Chief's pistol. "Good job, kid, but not good enough. It's over." Master Chief said to the wounded Felix.

Felix looked up into the visor of Master Chief and smiled then said, "On the contrary, my robotic friend. It's just begun."

"Heh. Whatever, kid." Master Chief raised his gun, preparing to knock the young warrior out with it, but before he could something happened. Something magical.

Felix just smiled shook his head and said, "Ground, bind this fool with your magic." Suddenly a small brown creature appeared next to Master Chief. Master Chief looked over very puzzled. All of a sudden, his pistol was pulled out of his hand and down to the ground, creating a small crater. Then Master Chief felt an incredible weight on his body… like he had suddenly gained thousands of pounds.

"What... What is this?" Master Chief grunted.

"This Djinn is creating an extreme gravity field around you." Felix said nonchalantly rising to his feet. "Well, you got me pretty good there… I'd better cure." A cloud appeared around his and Master Chief watched in awe as the bullet emerged from the wound and the wound healed behind it. "Well, I think I'll finish you off now." Felix said. He turned away from him and started walking.

"What's the matter.…running...away..." Master Chief managed to say under the enormous pressure of the gravity.

"No, just making sure I'm far enough away that I won't be damaged by this next attack." Those words flat out scared Master Chief, which wasn't an easy thing to do. He started to panic… _I can't die here...not now....wait a second, the Djinn._ Very slowly he reached over and attempted to pick up his pistol. It felt like a Scorpion tank, and yet with his cyborg strength he raised it out of the crater and pointed it at the Djinn.

Felix turned around he was now about 60 feet away from Master Chief. He saw him picking up the pistol.

"You'll never be able to aim it properly anyway," Felix remarked, shrugging off the last ditch effort by the Master Chief. "Master Chief!" he yelled, "Prepare to taste the power of Ragnarok." He raised his one hand in the air and began to focus his energy.

Master Chief was desperate, _I can only hold the pistol up long enough to get one shot at that thing. Better make it count._ He thought having almost raised the gun to the level of the Djinn. _Damn it looks like he's about to cast his spell. This is it..._ He pointed his gun at the Djinn's head and pulled the trigger. The bullet was immediately pulled down but the gravity field but still connected with the Djinn's foot, which ran off yelping. Master Chief felt the weight lift off of him. Then looked over at Felix and saw something incredible.

Felix finished focusing his energy and with a yell he shot it off into the air. For a moment there was nothing but then a sword appeared, falling out of the sky. At first it was small but then it grew larger, and larger until it became the size of an Aircraft Carrier. _HOLY FREAKING CRAP!!!!_ Master Chief thought to himself and took off in the other direction. The sword hit the ground and created a huge explosion. Dust flew up everywhere. When the dust settled there was nothing but the sword and a crater in the middle of the field.

An excited voice from the crowd exclaimed "HE'S DONE IT!!! IN A TREMENDOUS UPSET FELIX HAS DEFEATED MASTER CHIEF!!! INCREDIBLE!!!" The crowd roared. All of the contestants were on their feet clapping, even the quiet Crono. But then a loud voice prevailed over the noise, coming from right behind Felix. "Forgetting something kid?" Asked Master Chief.

All color left Felix's face he spun around, only to see a rocket from Master Chief's rocket launcher zooming right at him. _It's too close,_ he thought. _Unless…_ "GRANITE HELP!!!!" he yelled. An aura enclosed his body no less than a millisecond before the rocket impacted. As he flew, he turned and smiled at Master Chief, but was shocked to see the man pointing at him. Then he realized the Chief was pointing to behind him. He turned around to see the sword less then 10 feet away. He crashed into it head first, knocking him out cold.

"OH MY LORD WHAT A MATCH!!!! IT APPEARS MASTER CHIEF SURVIVED FELIX'S FINISHING MOVE AND FINISHED FELIX INSTEAD! WHAT A MATCH FOLKS, WHAT A MATCH!!!!!!" The crowd was chanting "CHIEF! CHIEF! CHIEF! CHIEF!" as Master Chief left the field, with a few final words for Felix. "Good job, kid, but not good enough. It's over."

**Aftermath**

Felix staggered down the hallway to the locker room, hand pressed to his forehead, cursing to himself. _I relied too much on my magic...stupid..._ he thought to himself. _His weapons were all long range...if I had closed with him, he wouldn't have stood a chance._ His head pounded with every step, the two large lumps that the battle had given him throbbing painfully.

The swordsman paused at the door to the locker room, hesitating before pushing it open. He doubted even Jenna could cheer him up in his frustration. To make matters worse, there was no doubt in Felix's mind that Isaac would be waiting on the other side to deliver an "I told you so," or two. Grimacing, Felix entered the room.

To his surprise, his fellow warrior was nowhere to be found. Yet the locker room wasn't empty. There was a man sitting on the bench in the center, an extremely tall, muscular man, with close-cut blond hair and skin so pasty-white that it didn't seem he had ever seen the light of day. Felix blinked. He hadn't seen this man before..."Who are you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You fought well today," said the man, not answering his question. When he spoke, Felix's eyes went wide. By the voice...this was the Master Chief. He wasn't, like Felix and the others had all assumed, a cyborg. The Master Chief was a human. "I was right not to underestimate you."

The Master Chief stood up, and Felix saw that he was limping slightly. "You didn't do so badly yourself," the warrior said after a pause. "So you're just human? Just flesh and blood like me and Isaac? What's your name?"

The Chief laughed softly to himself. "Human? I guess that's as good enough a description as any. And my name doesn't matter." With that, he began to walk out of the room; trying to ignore the wounds that Felix had dealt him during the fight.

However, Felix held a hand out, stopping him. "You know, next year, I'll be ready for you. Next time, it'll be for real."

The taller man looked down at the shorter warrior, and cracked a small smile, a smile of understanding. "I wouldn't have it any other way." With that, the Master Chief walked out of the locker room...before the door closed, he looked over his shoulder, back at Felix. "Oh, by the way...John."

Felix nodded. "Very well, then, John. I'll see you next year."

The door closed behind him, and the Master Chief was gone.

---


End file.
